Live A Little
by allonsysilvertongue
Summary: Post-Mockingjay. What if Effie found out that Haymitch wasn't capable of doing something and took it upon herself to teach him? Will that be the start of something new between them? Or will their polar opposite nature drive them up the wall? Hayffie.
1. Chapter 1

**I was lying in bed the other night when this totally random wacky idea came into my head & I thought I'll just write it out & post it. Thought I'll try something light and different from what I usually write. Heh.****  
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**Disclaimer: If it belongs to me, I would be rich. I just enjoy playing around with the characters. :)**

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Chapter 1

"You can wake up now, Haymitch. The meeting's over."

Haymitch flinched as he felt Effie elbow him in his side. He stifled a yawn and looked around at the group of people making their way out of the conference room.

"Oh, thank heavens. I thought Plutarch was never going to stop talking. Have you realised that, Eff? I think the man likes to hear the sound of his own voice," Haymitch said, shaking his head as he bent down to pick the bottle of whiskey he had hidden under the table.

Effie gave him a disapproving look.

"I wonder why they sent you in the first place. It's not like you actively participate in this meeting. How could District 12 even send _you_ of all people to represent them?"

He scratched his head as he held the door open for Effie. "No idea. 'Cause I participated in the Rebellion possibly?"

"Why'd you agree in the first place?" she asked, stuffing her papers in her large handbag. She looked up at him waiting for an answer, instead all she received was a lopsided grin from Haymitch.

Haymitch chuckled to himself as he imagined the look on Effie's face if he were let it slip that the reason he willingly attended the painfully tedious monthly meetings at the Capitol was just so he could get a chance to see her. He missed her terribly, not that he would ever tell her. He had grown accustomed to her presence from all the years they had spent working together and if he could see her every month even if it was only for a day or two, he was not going to let the chance pass him by. With all the things he could tease her with, the jibes he could make at her expense, the many ways he could annoy her, he wasn't going to give it up.

He had been going to these meetings for nearly two years now and in that space of two years, he had only made a suggestion once and it was promptly shot down by Plutarch Heavensbee and Effie Trinket. He was drunk when he suggested that District 12 could really use a bar with a wide array of liquor that could only be found in the Capitol, saving him the effort of having to lug back case after case of various spirits back to his home.

He endured these meetings because there was something he looked forward to at the end of it. He had made a bet with Effie on the last day they were together at the Capitol before he was scheduled to return to District 12 with Peeta and Katniss. Effie was sitting on one of the benches in the late President Snow's rose garden when Haymitch walked in and sat beside her. Her eyes were vacant and lifeless, and Haymitch felt something tug at his heartstrings. The Effie he knew wouldn't stop talking, she was full of life and nothing it seemed could take away the overabundance of energy in her. But that Effie was gone and in her place was a ghost that he almost didn't recognise.

"Hey, sweetheart."

Effie didn't answer, not even acknowledging his presence. Haymitch brought his bottle of vodka close to her face and moved it back and forth under her nose. As the noxious vapours rose and were inhaled, she blinked, the haze in her eyes slowly lifting.

"Manners, Haymitch. Has nobody ever told you how to behave properly?"

He smirked. That sounded a bit more like her.

"No, and I bet no matter what you do, you can't instil enough manners in me," he baited her. Her eyes narrowed slightly. If there was one thing Haymitch had learnt, it was that Effie Trinket hated it when someone told her that there was something that she could not achieve.

"Oh, I'm sure I would be able to," she replied dryly.

When he saw her three months from that day, the first time he stepped foot in the Capitol for those monthly meetings, Effie had cornered him at the end of the meeting to inform him that she would be teaching him some manners from that day forth. The tone in her voice brooked no argument and she had taken him to a small cafe at the corner of the street where she had slowly tried to teach him some proper etiquette. It made him mad but she was relentless. By the time Haymitch realised what was going on, it was already too late. Effie had turned him into her own personal project.

Haymitch smiled at a random memory of Effie asking him to sit straight instead of slouching in his seat. "I will tie a plank on your back if you don't listen to me and sit straight, Haymitch," she said as her finger trailed the menu in front of her. In response, with the cutlery in his hands, he made as much noise as possible as he ate his meal. Each time his spoon clang against his plate, he saw Effie flinch. He enjoyed needling her, the one thing he enjoyed above liquor.

"Oh, stop it, you insufferable man! And, you are using the wrong spoon, that's for the soup."

"Nobody gives a damn, Trinket," Haymitch said, chewing loudly on his food.

"Language!"

"I think you need to get laid," he declared tilting his chair back on its hind legs.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," he said, watching her face turn scarlet whether in anger or embarrassment, he wasn't sure.

"Is this... If you're trying to pick me up then rest assured, Mr. Abernathy you are doing it all wro-"

"Slow down there, sweetheart. Me? You're kidding right?" he said, laughing loudly. He promptly turned to the waiter who had come to pour them more wine and said, "Hey, what time does your shift end? You wanna take this woman home?"

"Haymitch!" she screeched, mortified.

"Live a little, Effie. You're always so uptight. I bet you've never played in the rain, or walked barefooted with the grass under your feet or lie down on fresh snow and made snow angels."

Effie paused. "Mother would never have allowed me. That is extremely uncouth."

"To you, maybe."

Effie's voice broke him out of his daydream and he hurried after her.

"Well, which restaurant today for my monthly lesson on manners?" he teased her, bowing a little as she brushed past him out the double doors.

"How about my apartment? Maybe a lesson on proper etiquette while visiting," she smirked.

"Whatever you say," he answered as they made their way to her small red car. The first time, Haymitch saw her car, he was surprised. He thought it would have been pink, but as he found out later on as she drove them to a small restaurant, pink wasn't her favourite colour.

"Here." Haymitch looked down on his hand as Effie pressed the key to her car into the palm of his hand.

"What do you want me to do with this, sweetheart?" he asked, dangling the key between his thumb and his index finger.

"Unlock the door, if you please. Can you drive today, Haymitch? I don't feel well; your barbarous behaviour in front of President Paylor earlier gave me a massive headache."

"No. I will not be driving. This is your car, you drive."

"Haymitch, I don't see what's the problem. It's just a short distance to my house, please just drive. It's not always that I asked you for a favour, and I am asking nicely. Please. I have a headache."

"No, sweetheart," he said with a note of finality.

Effie's eyes narrowed. "I'm asking you to drive the car, not carry it on your shoulder. The way you're acting it's like I'm asking you to move mountains. It's a simple request, it's not that difficult, we'll reach in 10 minutes so I don't see why –"

"I can't drive, Effie!" he abruptly interrupted her rant before she could go on any further.

"What do you mean you can't drive?"

"As in I don't know how!" he said, feeling extremely embarrassed.

"Oh. Oh, of course. I am extremely sorry. I wasn't aware," Effie looked down on her shoes meekly.

Haymitch nodded. He had never learned to drive. District 12 was a small district and a poor one. Nobody could afford something as extravagant as a car and nobody really needs it. They could walk to whichever part of District 12 they needed to go.

He saw the guilt the in Effie's eyes and when she looked up at him, he knew he was in trouble.

"I'll teach you how to drive. Right here, right now. I'll teach you."

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**Reviews?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. Maybe just the plot.**

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Chapter 2

"Teach me?" he echoed.

She nodded, her eyes lit up excitedly. "Teach you how to drive."

_No,_ Haymitch thought. She will most definitely not be teaching him how to drive. He didn't need to know how to drive. It would be useless, a wasted effort. And if he ever had the desire to drive a car, which he did not, Effie would be the last person he would go to for lessons.

The first time he sat beside her on the passenger seat, he had kept his eyes fixed on the road, not trusting her at all. He had sat stiff as a board, the bottle of liquor in his hand temporarily forgotten by the rising panic he felt when Effie started the engine and the car began moving.

"What's the matter, Haymitch? You haven't spoken at all."

"What's there to talk about?" he muttered, trying to hide how uncomfortable he felt.

When he realised that Effie was probably the one of the safest drivers on the streets of the Capitol, he began to relax in his seat. She drove carefully, was sure to keep a safe distance from the car in front of her, she allowed other cars to cut her lane and she even observed the speed limit.

Haymitch had been in enough car rides during his tenure as a mentor to know that even the Avoxes who drove the cars meant for mentors and escorts sometimes lost their patience and weave in and out of traffic.

"No," he shook his head. "No, no that's quite alright."

"Come on. You said live a little, remember? When we first started this project, you told me to live a little."

"What project? And no, don't use my words against –"

"Oh, be quiet and get in," Effie said, urging him towards the driver's seat. She slid in next to him and fastened her seatbelt, suddenly apprehensive.

"Very well, first things first, put on your seatbelt. Safety is paramount, Haymitch. Now, check your mirrors, make sure you can see properly and at a comfortable angle."

Effie then proceeded to tell him about the clutch pedal, the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal. Fifteen minutes into her explanation, Haymitch lost his patience and interrupted her rudely.

"When do I get to drive the car? If I want to hear you talk, I would rather just buy a book and teach myself how to drive."

Effie sighed in exasperation. She pointed to the hand brake showing Haymitch how to release it.

"Okay, now move forward slowly. I said slowly, Haymitch! You can't go on 50 kilometres per hour on first gear!" Effie shrieked as the engine roared.

Aside from the few times where the car stalled when Haymitch released his clutch while trying to change gear, Haymitch proved to be a fast learner. He was now effortlessly changing gear as they circled the parking lot.

"You're getting the basic of it," Effie smiled, patting his thigh. "You can stop the car now, I'll take us home."

"Why?" Haymitch asked like a petulant child who had just been told to put down his toys, hands gripping the steering wheel. "This is fun. I'll drive us to your house."

"You don't have a license. Now stop the car," Effie insisted.

"Live a little," Haymitch replied, laughing softly as he drove out to the main road.

"Haymitch, I don' think that – Oh my goodness, don't do that! Turn on the signal indicator next time."

Effie spent the next ten minutes of her life, holding on tightly to her seat belt and alternating between phrases like "I am going to die." or "Check your blind spot, Haymitch."

"Nobody checks blind spots the way you just showed me. It looks like your neck's going to get all twisted," he snarled at her when she shouted at him for the umpteenth time.

Thankfully for the pair of them, traffic was light at that hour and the route to Effie's apartment wasn't congested with traffic. Still, Effie cringed when a few cars angrily sounded their horns at them when Haymitch cut into their lane without giving any prior warning or signal indicators.

Haymitch turned his head to look at her, a smug grin on his face. "So, how'd I do? Think I'm pretty good at this driving business."

"Keep your eyes on the road." she snapped.

As far as Effie was concerned, that was the longest ten minutes of her life and as far as Haymitch was concerned, he never thought he would feel such exhilaration at being able to drive a car and drive Effie half mad with worry at the same time.

"You're driving too close to the car in front. It's called tailgating and it's absolutely rude to do so. Look, the driver in that car is giving you a dirty look!" Effie pointed out as they both watch the man peered into his rear view mirror looking terribly displeased.

"I would listen to you, sweetheart, if I care, but I don't." He replied as he purposely inched closer.

For the remainder of the journey, they continued very much in that same fashion with Effie trying to teach him the rules of driving and road courtesy while Haymitch ignored most of the things she said. Haymitch knew she was trying to control her temper each time she opened her mouth and Haymitch snubbed her shut.

"You're driving too fast! The brakes! Put on the brakes!"

"Stop shouting at me!"

"I'm not shouting at you. You're not listening to me."

"No, shut up. Shut up." Haymitch snapped at her, one hand shot out to cover her mouth while the other firmly gripped the steering wheel.

Effie struggled and tried to pry his hand off her mouth and as a result Haymitch lost control and mounted a kerb. The car came to a sudden halt as it collided into a lamp post.

Haymitch stared ahead in shock and the sudden silence that just descended on the pair of them was too much in contrast with the chaos they were in a few seconds ago.

"HAYMITCH ABERNATHY! Oh my goodness, what have you done?"

Haymitch's head snapped towards her and he slammed his hand on the dashboard. "What have I done? What have _you_ done? If you hadn't insisted that I learn to drive this wouldn't have happened."

"Excuse me! I told you to stop the car and let me drive instead. But you didn't listen to me! You never listen to me and look at the damage you've caused. You are absolutely -" At that very moment, the worst possible moment, the airbags chose to rapidly deploy themselves, surrounding the duo.

"Oh, shut the fuck up," he grumbled as he swept the already deflating airbags aside, pushed the door open and stepped out. Effie followed suit and began inspecting the damage, muttering to herself in distress about the cost of repairs and how the car Haymitch wrecked was a new Daihatsu Copen, barely 5 years old.

The front bumper was folded in half, the way a charlatan in a circus act would bend an iron bar. As a result, the hood was flung up at such a speed that a hinge was broken, hanging on the other.

Haymitch stared at her with his hands on his hips, watching her circle her car like a hyena would circle its prey. He didn't know what a Daihatsu Copen was nor did he care.

"Oh, that's your apartment. Well, at least we're here," he said grinning at Effie.

She glared at him, opened her mouth to speak, thought better of it and stormed off.

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**A/N: For anyone who is interested, Daihatsu Copen is a car model. Looks cute enough to belong to Effie.**

**So, reviews?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

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Chapter 3

As they rode the elevator up to Effie's apartment, Haymitch watched her from the corner of his eyes and noted that her body language just screamed aggression; the way she stood straight and tensed, shoulder squared as if readying herself for a fight, the way her fist clenched and unclenched by her sides and Haymitch by instinct, shuffled away from her.

He felt a slight twinge of guilt for having damaged her car and in retrospect he probably should have listened to her when she asked him to stop. He didn't let the guilt distract him from the exhilaration of his first driving experience, though, which he had to admit, was amazing. Besides, watching Effie half mad with worry beside him was hilarious.

"I think I did pretty well for a first timer," he commented, eyes fixed on the elevator door.

"No, you don't think, Haymitch and that's your problem. You never have. You just do what you want and I've had enough of it. How would you feel Haymitch, if I made it my mission to constantly go out of my way to annoy you?"

"A mission? Ha," he scoffed. "You don't need one. Just open your mouth; your voice is annoying. Or has nobody ever told you that? Hmm?"

Effie huffed in frustration and in an extremely rare fit of anger, brought her heel down on his foot and strode out of the elevator, with all the dignity she could muster.

Haymitch flinched and cursed loudly, his voice reverberating around the empty corridor as he hobbled after her.

"That was my foot, you silly little -"

"And that was my car!" she retorted, unlocking the door to her house.

Entering her spacious apartment, he went straight to her kitchen and started opening random drawers and cabinets in search of something while Effie spoke on the phone to give instructions about towing her car.

"You do not go to someone's house and start raiding their cupboard. It's extremely rude. You wait until the host serve you with refreshment and -"

"You're doing it again. Annoying me. That voice, it's worse that the sound of nails scratching against a chalkboard."

Effie stood by the entrance of her kitchen, hands on her hips, eyes blazing with fury and face red with anger. She was a sight to behold and Haymitch told her as much.

"You're beautiful," he said, smiling a little.

Effie blinked as confusion replaced her anger.

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh, don't be."

"Did you just ... I'm beautiful?" she repeated his words.

"You are. You are the most beautiful and exquisite woman..." he paused. "In this room."

Effie's eyebrows furrowed, "but I'm the only woman here."

"Exactly," he replied as he guffawed. "With no other woman to compare you to, you're beautiful. Out there, though.. Hmm."

Haymitch shut his eyes as laughter shook his body. His eyes snapped open when he felt, Effie's hand curled around the collar of his shirt and dragged him towards the door.

"Get out. I can't stand you. You are extremely rude and you have no respect for me at all."

"I find this," he gestured towards her dragging him, "extremely rude, too, sweetheart."

"I don't care anymore. Go back to District 12," She released her hold on his collar and swept her golden blonde hair away from her face. Effie's wigs and heavy make-up had long been discarded, claiming it reminded her too much of the past.

"Aww, Eff, come on, I was just joking. Come on."

"Well, your joke's not funny. You are insensitive."

"Come on, we haven't gone and bought liquor for me to bring back to 12!" he shouted as she shut the door in his face.

It had become a routine for Effie to bring him to a restaurant or a cafe after their monthly meetings and for them to make a pit stop for Haymitch to buy his monthly collection of spirits to be brought home.

Effie tried to teach him manners and in return, Haymitch taught her all he knew about alcohol and wine, having developed certain knowledge from years of drinking.

"I'll send a crate over. Go home."

"You better," he said.

"Are you still there, Abernathy?"

Haymitch smiled, as he leaned his forehead against her door.

"Yeah,"

"I hate you," he heard her say through her wooden door, soft and without any real malice and hatred in her voice.

"The feeling's mutual. Listen Eff, it's just.. It's just a car."

He heard her footsteps retreat and he knew she was no longer behind the door. Still, he shouted anyway, "don't forget my liquor, Trinket!"

Three days later, a young dark haired postman knocked on his door to deliver a shipment from the Capitol. He growled out his thanks and shut the door, heaving the wooden crate containing his month's supply of liquor on the coffee table.

He eagerly opened the wooden crate and his face contorted into a mask of disbelief and frustration.

Effie Trinket had send him bottles upon bottles of sparkling juice and nestled between two bottles was a single note in her small spidery scrawl, "Just like alcohol, without the alcohol. See you in a month's time."

_Oh, the game is on. Two can play this game_, he thought.

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**A/N: ****Just to clear things up, this fic has loose plots unlike my two other stories ****& I work on this fic when I'm having writer's block on my other stories**. It focuses more on the things Haymitch & Effie do to rile each other up, just something light and fun.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Effie and Haymitch belongs to Collins.**

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Chapter 4

Haymitch slid into the chair next to Effie who was furiously scribbling something on a piece of parchment, too engrossed to even notice his presence. The room was buzzing with conversation, the sound of numerous people talking with each other all at once. Some were standing by the huge glass window overlooking the city, others were sitting around conversing as they waited for the meeting to be called to order.

He poked her in the ribs and she let out a yelp of surprise and protest. Her small hands flew to cover her mouth as her eyes darted around the room, worried that people might have witness her unacceptable behaviour.

Beetee and Plutarch shot her a questioning look and when she shook her head and smiled, they returned back to their conversation.

"A simple hello would have sufficed, Haymitch," she reprimanded him.

"Hmm."

XxX

"According to the report here in my hand, regarding the relocation of the citizens' among the Districts, the number has –"

"Sparkling juice, Trinket? Really?" Haymitch whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Quite the taste, aren't they?" she replied softly, a sly smirk on her lips. "Pay attention, now." Her eyes were focused on Plutarch, currently in an open debate with a fellow representative from District 3.

"You better watch your back, sweetheart. They say revenge is a dish best served cold. But for you, Trinket, I'll serve it any time of the day; hot or cold, rain or shine."

He watched as she wrinkled her nose in displeasure. She lowered her head slightly and scribbled something on the pad of paper in front of her before sliding it over for Haymitch to read.

_**Is that a threat? **_Haymitch squinted to make out her small handwriting.

_**It's a warning, but if you want to take it as a threat, be my guest, little dove.**_

_**You are unruly and uncouth,**_came her written reply.

_**Then you should learn never to mess with my alcohol, you insolent chit.**_

Soon, the page began to fill with their handwritings; the stroke of the alphabets becoming more inconsistent, and their handwriting more illegible by the minute as they furiously exchanged insults with each other.

"Mr. Abernathy, Ms. Trinket, is there something going on that you would like to share? I see that you're passing notes to each other, if it's important to the meeting, kindly share your thoughts," the sound of President Paylor voice halted their flurry of activities.

Haymitch's hand was poised in mid-air, the pen in his grip. He scowled, and Effie, despite the blush creeping up her cheeks at having been caught and called out, managed to shake her head and muttered a brief apology, embarrassed at the treatment reminiscent of misbehaving schoolchildren.

XxX

Their monthly routine lunch went by in a blur of angry words, spilled drinks and Effie giving him contemptuous murderous looks.

"And, could we have two glasses of sparkling pomegranate juice to go with it?"

"Of course," the waiter replied as she scribbled away Effie's order.

Haymitch's head snapped up and saw Effie smiling sweetly at him. His eyes narrowed. _Oh, this meddling insane woman._

"No. Get me something strong," he ordered.

Effie shook her head, her hands curled around the waiter's wrist preventing her from writing down Haymitch's order.

"Please, don't. You see, I'm pregnant and ... he made a promise, you know, not to drink in my presence while I'm still carrying,"

Haymitch's eyes grew wide, his mouth agape in surprise. _What? What is she playing at? _The waiter beamed at the pair of them before giving them a heartfelt congratulation and hurried away.

Haymitch glowered and stared at Effie who was hiding behind her hand, trying to stifle her giggles.

"Pregnant?" he whispered menacingly at him.

"Well, they don't know that and now, you're stuck with more sparkling juice," Effie said as she clapped her hands together enthusiastically.

When they were served with their food and another young waiter came bearing two tall glasses of what Haymitch assumed to be the offending drink, an idea flashed into his mind and he stuck out his leg.

The poor young boy tripped and the juice spilled all over Effie's cream-coloured dress.

A horrified shriek escaped her lips.

"I'm sorry! I'm terribly, terribly sorry," the waiter gushed out.

Effie dabbed the napkin desperately at the spot on her dress, threw an annoyed look at the waiter and disappeared into the washroom, grumbling to herself. Haymitch sniggered once Effie was out of earshot.

He shot a look at the waiter who stood rooted to the spot in shock. Haymitch felt a twinge of guilt when he saw the look on the young boy's face. He fished out a currency note from his pocket and folded it neatly into the palm of his hand.

He slipped the note into the boy's trembling hand. "Sorry for tripping you, kid. Don't worry about her, I'll make sure she won't file a complaint against you," he winked at the boy.

Effie returned to their table after a while by which time the food was already served. Haymitch had started the meal without waiting for her and he was sure if she wasn't busy disapproving of his utter lack of manners, she would be chewing his ear off about her dress.

True enough, the moment she sat down across from him, the first words she uttered were those communicating threats of bodily injury.

"I will kill you, Haymitch. That was a new dress and it's ruined now. Look at it," she waved towards the red spot staining the once pretty dress.

"Sweetheart, unless you lost your memory, I wasn't the one who spilled the drink on you," he told her, leaning back against his chair.

"Oh, you may not have spilled it on me, but I'm sure you had a hand in this. It's you, this has you written all over it, you foul man," she hissed at him.

Haymitch chuckled in amusement, "If you think so, little dove."

"I am not a bird!"

XxX

Effie had calmed down considerably as the last of their plates were cleared away. Haymitch leaned back rubbing his belly and tapping his fingers on the table.

"Time?" he asked.

"Four o'clock."

_Great,_ he sighed. Two more hours to spare before he was scheduled to be on the train home back to District 12.

Effie seemed to realise his predicament for she asked, "Still got a bit of time, yes? Your train doesn't depart till 6."

He rolled his eyes. _Leave it to her to know my schedule._

"You can come back to my apartment if you'd like. I don't know, you could watch the television while I work," she proposed with a shrug.

He couldn't believe his luck. Two days before the meeting at the Capitol, he had delivered a parcel to Effie's apartment. Based on his calculation, the parcel should have arrived at her apartment when they were still stuck in the meeting with the committee. If he accepted her invitation to go back to her place, he would be able to witness her reaction to his parcel.

His face didn't betray his feelings, the mask of extreme boredom and indifference was still in place as he nodded his assent.

XxX

Effie wouldn't stop talking. She told him everything and anything that came to her mind, having kept most of her thoughts to herself as she waited for his arrival at the Capitol each month. Haymitch knew that Effie considered him as one of her dear friends, someone she could be herself with. Haymitch still found the concept slightly disturbing, not having many friends himself.

As far as Haymitch knew, Effie didn't have many friends. She had acquaintances. Her only friends were the three of them; Haymitch, Katniss and Peeta in District 12 and Annie Cresta in District 4 who she had forged a bond with during her time in prison. Effie seldom met them as often as she met Haymitch. It was only natural that he was the one she went to when she had something she wanted to share.

"I accepted his offer. So, I shall be having dinner with him tonight," she told him with a smile on her face, as they stepped out of the elevator.

He scowled in response.

"A date, Trinket?"

"Yes. Isn't that what you've always asked me to do?" she queried. "You need to get laid, Trinket. Stop calling me and find a boyfriend or a girlfriend, whichever way you lean, to occupy your time, Trinket. I'll rip my phone out again and this time, I'll make damn certain nobody will be able to fix it, Trinket." she said as she mimicked him.

_No_, _that was definitely not what I meant. _He grumbled to himself._ I said it in jest, you stupid woman, you just had to take it literally._

She halted as she noticed the huge, square box in front of her door. She tilted her head slightly as she inspected the package.

"It's for me," she said.

"I would imagine. It is at _your _door."

With his help, they managed to manoeuvre the package to her sitting room. Haymitch plopped down on the couch and watched her silently.

"Well?" he prompted. "Aren't you gonna open it up?"

Her hands were folded on her chest as she bit her bottom lip worriedly. "I don't know... Should I? I don't know who it's from!"

He gave a huff of annoyance. This was getting nowhere. He really wanted to see her reaction when she opened it up before he left for Twelve.

"It could be from your date? A surprise, perhaps," he ventured out, planting ideas in her head, making use of the new information Effie had told him.

She looked at him and her eyes lit up. She eagerly moved towards the box and untied the ribbon releasing the brown paper wrapping the box. Haymitch frowned. _Who is this guy who could make her react that way?_

Effie let the paper fall to the floor. Haymitch got up from his seat and sauntered over, standing behind Effie.

"I think you gotta press that red button over there," he pointed.

"What if it's a bomb? What if it explodes?" she whispered.

"Don't be ridiculous. Unless, of course, he wanted to date a... corpse," a sly smirk played on his lips.

She rolled her eyes and moved forward hesitantly, pressing the red button. She hastily stepped back to stand beside Haymitch, seeking his safety. Immediately, soft musical chimes started playing. It managed to pique Effie's curiousity and like a small child, she stepped forward.

That was when it happened. The music stopped, the lid opened and a huge clown head, complete with maniacal grin popped out of the box. Effie screamed; a terrifying, high pitched scream. She stepped back, lost her balance and fell on the floor. She stared up at the looming figure of the clown, moving back and forth. Her mouth was opened, her eyes wide in shock.

"What was that?" she sounded hysterical. "Haymitch!"

The moment she had screamed, Haymitch had started laughing and when she fell on the floor, he had to steady himself on the wall as his body shook with silent laughter.

"We call that Jack in a box, Trinket. And that, sweetheart is for those sparkling juice you graciously sent me last month," he told her amidst his laughter.

"That's... You are the reincarnation of evil, has anyone ever told you that? That's just foul. Get rid of it!" she screeched at him.

"Oh, your face, you should have seen it. It was priceless. I wish I had brought a camera; I should have brought a camera with me." Haymitch wheezed as he tried to regain control of his breathing and stop laughing.

He remembered being told that as a child, Effie had been afraid of clowns and when he had teased her, she was adamant over the fact that she had overcome the fear. Apparently, she had not. She was on her feet, her hand pressed over her chest as she continued to stare at the clown in abject horror.

"Had it made just for you, sweetheart," he told her, smirking.

"How utterly sweet of you," she replied snidely. "Get rid of it, Haymitch, please," her tone changed as she pleaded with him. Effie had turned her back resolutely away from the clown.

Haymitch broke into a fresh fit of laughter at the image of her with her arms crossed, and her refusal to look at the clown. He could see her shaking with anger and he decided that for his own safety, it was better for him to leave.

"Don't think so. Get your date to get rid of it for you," he told her, with a self-satisfied smirk on his face as he imagined the pair of them spending their date getting rid of _his_ gift for her.

"Till next time, little dove."

He was gone before Effie could say another word.

* * *

**Just something I wrote a couple of days ago..**

**Reviews are appreciated!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Just having some fun with the characters**

* * *

Chapter 5

Effie was mad at Haymitch and hadn't bothered to call him like she used to when he returned to Twelve. It had been two weeks since the incident with the clown at her apartment.

She was lounging on her sofa browsing through that month's fashion magazine when her phone rang.

"Effie Trinket speaking."

"Little dove," she heard his voice on the other end of the line. "Still alive?"

She couldn't help the noise of displeasure that escaped her lips. "Should I be dead?"

"Clown didn't give you a heart attack, did it?"

Effie pursed her lips in annoyance. "No," she replied testily.

"Aww come now, Trinket. You still mad?"

"I'm not mad, Haymitch. Why would I be? Besides, I have something special planned for you. I'm sure you'll like it," she told him a sickly sweet tone.

She heard Haymitch's sharp intake of breath on the other end and smirked to herself. She had nothing planned for him but he didn't need to know that. She would make him pay for ruining her date, ultimately. She and Marcus had arrived extremely late for their dinner reservation trying to get rid of the offending gift Haymitch had given her and Effie's mood was already ruined by then for her to properly enjoy her night.

Effie was aware that Haymitch found her intimidating at times. She might have a soft heart when it came to her tributes, cried over their deaths, helped the Rebellion during the war but she was still born and raised in the Capitol. It had been ingrained in her since young to always go for what she wanted.

Haymitch had borne witness to how temperamental and nasty she could get when the last pair of heels that she really wanted was snatched right under her nose at one of the famous sales the Capitol had. She ranted all night long when she returned to the Penthouse raining curses on the unfortunate woman who had gotten to the heels first.

"I hope the heels break while she walks in it, I really do! It was mine, Haymitch, I had my eyes on it and she took it from me. How dare she!"

As Effie told him later on, it was just the way she coped with her circumstances. Haymitch relied on alcohol while she tried to distract herself with the latest designer shoes when the stress of the Games had gotten to her.

XxX

"Absolutely not!" he thundered in protest.

"It makes sense, Haymitch. You're District Twelve's representative to the Capitol and Effie's our representative. She would need your help when she's there and wouldn't it be easier if she stays with you?"

Effie stood to the side silently watching Plutarch and Haymitch battle it out. The meeting had just ended and they were trying to settle the issue of her accommodation while she was in Twelve.

President Paylor had commissioned an in-depth report on the progress of all 13 Districts in Panem, with special emphasis being placed on rebuilding, reconstruction, current or potential problems and possible room for improvements. A Capitol representative would be sent to each district to facilitate the liaison between the Capitol and the respective district.

"Plutarch's right, Haymitch," Effie chimed in. "I would need to talk to the people in Twelve and a familiar face with me would be –"

"Get Katniss or Peeta, then," he interrupted.

Haymitch sounded desperate and Effie would have laughed at him if the situation wasn't so serious. Effie knew his mind was working a mile a minute trying figure out why having her staying with him would be a horribly unbearable notion. Personally, Effie thought the threat of payback that she made two weeks ago was the main motivating factor as to why he was putting up such a fight.

"Haymitch," she said exasperatedly. "Katniss and Peeta just had a child a few months ago. It would be asking too much, I would be imposing on their family time."

She saw Haymitch faltered as he considered her argument. Effie didn't want to stay with him as much as he didn't want to have her in his house but couldn't he be professional about the situation? She had a job to do at Twelve.

His living habits were not exactly ideal either. Effie recalled the total lack of care in his house the last time she visited his house the day of the Third Quarter Quell Reaping.

"Fine."

XxX

"This is my house, we play by my rules, Trinket."

She sighed and swept her blonde curls away from her shoulder. She let her bags drop to the floor. He hadn't even bothered carrying her bags from her once they alighted from the train. Not that she was expecting him to but he hadn't even offered. She had to lug it all the way from the train station to his house.

The small wheels on her luggage had on numerous occasions snagged on the small pebbles and stone on the uneven pathway. She had faltered in her high heels when her luggage got caught and Haymitch had laughed out loud at her.

"Very well. What's your rule, then?"

"You don't mess with my alcohol, and I'll leave you alone," he told her through gritted teeth.

Effie smiled. "Oh course, Haymitch. After all, I have my own little surprise to occupy myself with. You remember the plan I mentioned to you on the phone a few weeks back, don't you?"

She trailed her hand across his shoulder as she made to walk past him. She felt him stiffened under her touch and giggled softly to herself.

XxX

She had been staying with him for three days and things had been going well for both of them. He avoided her by staying in his room all day until it was time for him to accompany her around District Twelve. She would talk to the people and make small notes for her report.

In return, Effie minded her own business. She would leave him food on the table before she retired to bed and when she woke up in the morning, the empty plate would be in the kitchen sink. By mid-afternoon, she would knock on his door to tell him she was ready to do her rounds around town.

It was on the third day when all hell broke loose. Effie was showering in her room when the water turned ice cold. She stepped back in surprise and tried to turn the heater on to no avail. She wrapped the towel around herself, knocked on his door and let herself in when there was no answer. He was lying on his unmade bed with a bottle of whiskey in his hand.

He lifted his head at the sound of her footsteps and stared at her. Her body was covered with soap suds when she hastily stepped out of the shower without washing them off.

"The water's cold," she told him.

He sucked on his bottle and stared unblinkingly at her. "So?"

"I was showering and the water turned cold. The heater is broken."

"Nah, it's not broken. I turned it off."

_What? _She thought to herself.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because you're wasting my electricity. The heater uses a lot of electricity, sweetheart and are you going to pay for it?"

"You can't be serious!" she screeched at him, her face turning into a frown.

"Oh, I am."

"I'm going to turn it back on and I'm going to shower."

"Sure, sweetheart, if you can find the main electric control in this house," he winked at her and fell back on his bed. His eyes closed.

She couldn't find it. She went searching around his house wrapped only in her thick white towel, her teeth chattering from the cold morning breeze. She barged into his room once again and shook him awake. She screamed at him, begged and pleaded for him to turn it on but all he did was cover his face with a pillow.

"Your voice is so irritating, Trinket. It's not something I want to hear in the morning," she heard him say.

Effie clenched her jaw furiously and stormed off from his room, slamming the door behind her. _To hell with manners,_ she told herself inwardly, _he doesn't deserve it._

She mumbled angrily and cursed him as she forced herself to stand under the cold shower and wash off the soap now sticking to her skin.

_He will get it. I will make him pay for this and for everything else, _she promised herself.

XxX

Effie walked into the sitting room that night to the sight of Haymitch sleeping on the couch. She had just came home from visiting the Mellarks next door. Their three months old baby girl was absolutely adorable with her big blue eyes so very much like Peeta's. _Primrose Mellark._

She stood infront of the couch silently observing Haymitch as he slept with his mouth open, his drool pooling on the faded old cushion he used to pillow his head. Effie wrinkled her nose in disgust.

She made a mental note to never touch any of his cushions again. One of his hands was folded across his stomach, the other dangled at the edge of the couch holding an empty bottle.  
Effie counted three empty bottles of whiskey strewn on the floor around his couch, his silver knife peeking out from under the couch. He was passed out drunk.

To be certain, Effie stepped closer and poked his shoulder, "Haymitch," she called out. He grunted and continued sleeping. If he had been clutching his knife, she would never have dared to disturb him.

Smiling to herself, she ran up the stairs to her room searching desperately among her luggage. When she found what she was looking for, she returned back to the sitting room and gave Haymitch's shoulder another rough poke. When he continued sleeping, Effie sat on the floor cross legged and took his calloused hand dangling over the end of the couch in hers.

Slowly, she brought the brush up and began painting his nails. Her eyes kept flickering to his face, afraid that he might wake up but the alcohol had knocked him out. Effie fell into comfortable routine as she painted his nails. She even hummed a simple tune as she went goes along.

Done with all five nails, Effie kneeled to give herself the leverage she needed and began painting the nails on the hand splayed across his stomach. She rose from the floor and dusted her dress. She stepped back to admire her handy work, a gleeful smile on her face.

Effie stood up straighter, another thought fleeted through her mind. Quickly, she went back up to her room and opened one of her many bags. Finding what she was looking for, she made her way back to where Haymitch was still sprawled on the sofa.

Resuming her position on the floor, she carefully began adorning his nails with small silver gems. Two silver gems on each nail, glittering brightly against the neon pink nail polish. She snapped a photo using the camera given to her by committee for her job in Twelve.

Effie nearly jumped in fright when Haymitch gave a loud snore. Quickly she gathered up her things and returned to her room. She slipped under the covers, giggling to herself.

XxX

"TRINKET!"

Effie jerked awake at the sudden booming voice bellowing from the sitting room. _Haymitch_, she thought, _he must already be awake_. A grin spread across her face. She slipped into her robe and tied it together before making her way down the stairs.

Stepping into the sitting room, she saw Haymitch sitting on the couch staring at his hand.

"What's the problem? Where's the fire?" she asked trying hard to control her face from breaking out into a smile and giving herself away.

His head snapped up at the sound of her voice, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What have you done to me?" his growled out at her.

"You have to be more specific than that, my sweet."

"This," he held out his hand and shoved it under her nose, causing her eyes to cross. "My nails are pink! And - jewels! Those are jewels on my nails. What have you done to them?!" His voice was a mixture between horror and anger.

Unable to control herself any longer, Effie laughed out loud as she looked down at his hand. She fell on the couch beside him covering her face with her hand, laughing uncontrollably. She took his hand in hers and examined his nails. It only made her laugh harder.

"Oh dear, such a pretty shade, it looks good on you, surprisingly. You didn't tell me you were into manicures and nail polish, Haymitch!" she gasped in mock surprised.

Haymitch pulled his hand away in disgust and gave her a slight push on her shoulder. She fell on her side clutching her stomach, breaking into another fit of giggles.

"I could take you to one of those parlors and we could get our nails done together the next time you come down to the Capitol!" she said in between bouts of laughter.

"You did this! You painted my nails pink as - this is for the stunt with the Jack in the Box isn't it?" he demanded.

Effie smirked at him.

"And for letting me shower in cold water," she replied.

"You conniving devil, we're supposed to go to the town square today! I can't go out like this, you foolish woman."

"I don't see how is that any of my problem."

Effie could feel Haymitch staring daggers at her as she walked away from him. _Serves him right,_ she thought.

XxX

"What's the matter, Haymitch? You look so sour," Peeta asked worriedly.

"Nothing," he answered a little too quickly and defensively before he walked away, both his hands buried deep in his pockets.

Peeta turned to Effie with a questioning look on his face.

"Is he low on alcohol?"

"No, there are still more than enough bottles at his house. Do you mind passing this to him?"

She handed Peeta an envelope containing nothing in it but Haymitch would be forced to accept it with his manicured nails and that was all Effie cared about at this moment. He couldn't hide those pretty nails in his pockets forever.

"Sure."

"Oh, tell him it's from Plutarch and it's urgent."

Effie felt terrible for making use of Peeta that way to get back at Haymitch. She tried to convince herself that it wouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Haymitch had done worse.

Effie watched as Peeta made his way to Haymitch and handed him the envelope. She had to hide her smile as Haymitch hesitated. He glanced around to make sure nobody was paying him any attention before he slowly pulled his right hand out of his pocket and snatched the envelope.

Peeta stared at his hand, transfixed. Haymitch opened the envelope to find nothing was inside. Effie saw him clenched his jaw and looked up his eyes searching the crowd before it finally landed on her leaning against a pillar.

She grinned at him. His eyes hardened. Effie giggled when Haymitch jumped in surprised as he felt Peeta's hand curled around his wrist to bring Haymitch's hand closer.

Effie pushed herself off the pillar and inched closer to them. _This was going to be good_.

"What - Did you make a bet with someone or something?" Peeta asked curiously.

Haymitch snatched his hand away and growled at Peeta, "None of your damned business."

He jammed his hand back into his pocket.

Effie sidled up next to Haymitch. "Haymitch just doesn't want to admit that he was bested by a lady. While he was passed out drunk, I might add. Perhaps that would teach you to drink in moderation, no?" she smiled sweetly at him.

"First of all, you're hardly a lady and secondly, that was dirty play, sweetheart - while I was unconscious, really?"

"I'm not sure I want to know exactly what's going on here," Peeta told them.

Effie ignored Peeta and glared at Haymitch.

"Oh, sending me something you knew I was afraid of wasn't dirty play? I beg to -"

"I'm gonna go alright? I think Katniss might need help with the baby..." Peeta trailed off as he disappeared.

XxX

That night, Effie found Haymitch in the kitchen his hand under the faucet as he tried in vain to scrub the nail polish off. In his attempt to remove it, he had sacrificed a bottle of his alcohol as he rubbed it on his nails.

He was grumbling and cursing her. He took his silver dagger and was about to pry the gem away when Effie stilled his hand.

"Don't - you'll hurt yourself. Let me, I'll get rid of it for you."

He followed her to her room and waited by her bed as she searched for her nail polish remover. They sat facing each other on the bed, his hand on her lap as she slowly and carefully removed the stains.

"Can we call a truce, Haymitch?" she asked him.

"Are you willing to kiss me?"

"What?"

"Answer the question, Trinket."

Effie's eyebrows crinkled as she tried to make sense of where the conversation was going._Do I want to kiss him?_ She thought to herself. Her eyes fell to his thin lips and she wondered briefly what it would feel like to -

"No. Of course not. You are the last person I want to kiss. No, absolutely not," she told him, shaking her head vehemently trying to get rid of those unwanted thoughts in her head.

"Exactly, little dove. Just as much as you do not want to kiss me, I have no desire to call a truce. You think I'm gonna let this slide?"

"When will it ever end? If you're not willing to back down and we keep -"

"You scared, Eff? Afraid of what I'm capable of, eh?" he asked smugly.

Effie narrowed her eyes at him

"I am not scared."

"Yeah, that's what you said about the clown too, but your reaction to it proved otherwise," he laughed.

"You know what? Here's the nail polish remover, get rid of it yourself. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to go to bed," she snapped at him and pushed him off her bed.

What Effie wasn't aware was that Haymitch had never had that much fun before. He wasn't going to end what they had between them now because in those moments when Effie was angry with him for a stunt that he pulled, or when she was planning something for him, he occupied her thoughts – him. Not that Capitol neighbour of hers that she had been dating.

For that brief period, he was the centre of her attention - the person she thought of and it was enough for him. He knew he wasn't the ideal person she wanted to be with, she probably grew up knowing exactly the kind of guy she wanted and Haymitch wasn't it. So he'd take what he could get.

As she lay on her bed, her thoughts wandered back to him. Effie felt that what they had going on between them now - going out of their way to get annoy each other was childish. It was unbecoming for two fully grown adults to be indulging in such childish games.

But, if she was honest to herself, she had never felt so alive. Growing up, Effie's childhood had revolved around etiquette, manners, climbing the social ladder, and looking presentable. To rile each other up the way she and Haymitch were doing would be considered rude and bad mannered. It was only with Haymitch that she could be this way.

She felt the need to impress him, to prove to him that whatever plan he had to annoy her, she would take it in her stride and give him as good as she got.

* * *

**Hope you find that enjoyable!**

**If there is anything you would like to see them do to each other, maybe you could send me a PM... or drop me a message on tumblr (allonsy-silvertongue)? I will consider your suggestions :)**

**Thanks for reading! Please leave a review :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Just a small note to convey my heartfelt thanks for those who reviewed, favourited and put this story on alert. Thank you, so much, awesome people!**

**Disclaimer: No, not mine.**

* * *

Chapter 6

Haymitch flopped down on his bed and inspected his nails. It felt raw after all the scrubbing they were subjected to. His lips twitched at the corner. He had to give credit when credit was due - that little dove knew how to fight back.

If she continued fighting back that way, Haymitch realised that he would need to up the ante.

"Haymitch, wake up," a voice floated to his dreams as he felt someone shake his shoulder not too gently. "Wake up or we're going to be late!"

He grabbed the pillow, turned on his side and covered his ears to block out the sound of the high pitched voice. The pillow was snatched from his grasp and he felt something wet splash against his face.

He jerked up right into a sitting position, sputtering out the liquid that was flowing down his face. His eyes met those of Effie Trinket. _Liquor, _he thought, disgusted as he recognised the liquid dribbling down his chin.

"Are you insane? Is that the way you wake someone up?" he shouted at her.

"I tried waking you up nicely," she retorted, holding her ground. "We need to go, hurry and get ready. Go and take a shower."

"Get out."

"No. Get in the bathroom, if I go out you'll only go back to sleep."

Grumbling to himself, he threw the blankets to the side and rolled out of bed. He pulled his shirt over his head, flinging away and at the same time, he saw Effie quickly turning around a blush creeping up her cheeks. He looked down and realised that he was only in his boxers.

"What's the matter, little dove? Never seen a man in boxers before?" he teased her.

"I'm just giving you your privacy," she mumbled softly.

_Oh, this is too good to pass up. She's embarrassed, _he thought gleefully to himself.

"Are you? Or maybe what I said was right – you've never seen a man in boxers before. Marcus is a briefs kinda guy, I take it? That's his name right - the idiot you're dating?"

Effie whirled around so fast she collided into Haymitch who was standing behind her. Her nose made contact with his naked chest and his hand shot out to steady her. When he realised how close they were to each other, he released her quickly as though the mere touch of her skin burned his palm. Effie stepped back hastily, her face red.

"He's not an idiot. Don't call him that. He's... He's a very nice gentleman – polite, well-mannered and sensitive to people's feelings. Qualities which you do not possess."

"Yeah, whatever, sweetheart," he waved her off, turning around to make his way to his bathroom. There was an odd feeling in his chest hearing Effie speak about that idiot neighbour of hers that way. "You're suited for each other then, but do Panem a favour. Don't have kids – poor little creatures having controlling parents like you."

"At least, I have someone!" she replied angrily. "Look at you – look at how filthy and rude you are. No wonder nobody wants you."

He slammed the bathroom door in frustration. He stood under the shower head and turned on the faucet at full blast, trying to drown out her voice.

"Damn it!" he shouted as he turned off the shower angrily. The water was ice cold. He had forgotten to turn the heater on when he turned it off specially for Effie the day before. He grabbed the towel hanging in the bathroom, wrapped it around himself muttering and cursing as he made his way to the main switch to turn on the heater.

Effie was gone from his room and he really couldn't care less where that meddlesome, infuriating woman went. He wished she could just hurry and finish what was needed to be done and return back to the Capitol.

It wasn't easy having her around. There were moments when he caught himself thinking about the life he could have with Effie here, in District 12. He could picture it, saw glimpses of it when Effie made an extra cup of coffee for him or when she picked up his dirty laundry and deposited in the laundry basket. She hated mess and disorder in all its myriad forms and it was almost natural the way she moved around his house, cleaning as she went by. It seemed and felt domestic and his heart had that same odd feeling whenever he thought of it.

He wanted her out of his house. He needed her out of his house.

XxX

He walked by her side sullenly as Effie surveyed the construction that was currently going on. As part of the reconstructions and rebuilding of the Districts, the new Government at the Capitol had commissioned that all wooden houses be demolished and replaced with brick houses. Part of the roads in Twelve were now being cemented and paved, the gravel dirt pathway would be gone, replaced by tarmac.

"All these workers are residents from Twelve?" Effie asked a tall gangly man who had lived in the Seam before the Rebellion.

"Yes, most of them are. We've got a few from Two - they know about bricks and stuff better than we do."

Haymitch sauntered off and leaned against a half completed brick house, observing Effie from where he was. He took out a flask from his pocket taking occasional sips of the liquor within while waiting for Effie. He looked up towards the grey skies and then to the workers who had started packing up their tools.

"Eff," he shouted her name. "Hey - little dove, come on, time to go."

She turned to look at him, and up to the skies he was pointing at. She hurried over to him, taking small little steps in her high heels.

He shook his head. _Ridiculous - she knew she was going to have to do a significant amount of walking, why didn't she just borrowa pair of Katniss's boots?_

"It's going to rain," she said as she stood before Haymitch, both of them taking shelter under the half-finished roof.

"You don't say?"

As the words left his mouth, it started drizzling. "Oh fantastic," he groaned. "Where's your umbrella, sweetheart?"

"I left it at your house," she told him sheepishly.

"Of all the days you decided not to bring it, it has to be today?"

"Well, I didn't know it was going to rain, did I? There are no reliable weather forecasts that I could –"

"Yeah, maybe you should note that down in your report," he answered sarcastically, as he peered up at the skies once again.

"We could wait it out, the rain is bound to stop," she suggested.

"Not anytime soon by the looks of it," he pointed up towards the heavy dark clouds looming above their heads.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. We'll just wait it out here."

Haymitch gave her a sidelong glanced and smirked. "I see you've made your decision, time for me to make mine. You can sit here and wait it out, little dove. I'm going to go home."

"In this rain?" she asked incredulously. "You'll get soaked!"

"Yes, in this rain," he mimicked her. "I'm used to it. If I run through the rain, I'll be home in 10 minutes, I think. Victor's Village is just round the corner," he explained to Effie.

"You can't leave me here all alone. I'm a lady, it's bad man –"

"No, I really don't care about manners right now, sweetheart. I'm going home to my bottle of whiskey and settle down on the sofa in front of the fire. It's a nice weather to get drunk."

He stepped out from the shelter of the roof into the rain. As he started to walk briskly away, Effie's voice called out to him.

"Haymitch! I don't know how to get back to your house."

"Told you it's round the corner," he shouted, and turned around to head home.

"Haymitch, no, I don't – Don't leave me here all alone," her high pitched voice pierced through the air as she tried to make herself be heard amongst the sound of the falling rain on earth.

He sighed. He was already drenched and he just wanted to go home. "Come on then. The rain won't kill you. If you don't want to walk in the rain, stay there! I'll send Peeta or Katniss to get you when the rain stops."

He saw her hesitate and weigh her options. She only knew a handful of the District Twelve residents and she had not yet familiarised herself with the district for her to make her way around town without a chaperone.

"I've never walked in the rain before, what if I get sick? And my heels are not really suitable for this kind of..." she trailed off and glanced down. "Oh, my dress, too. It'll get –"

"Oh for fuck's sake," he grumbled. "If you're afraid of the rain just stay put."

Haymitch turned around and left her standing under the roof, looking at him helplessly. He walked briskly and had already passed several houses when he heard her.

He heard the hurried splash of feet against the wet cobbled pavement as she tried to match his long strides. As she ran, Effie desperately called out his name. He smirked to himself and continued walking, wiping the rain water off his eyes studiously ignoring her.

"Wait, Haymitch, wait, please."

He slowed down but didn't stop walking. Soon enough, she managed to catch up and hold on to his arm, wheezing and gasping for breath. He stopped and looked at her, drenched from head to toe. Her honey-blonde locks hung limply around her face, water dripping off of it. She was walking barefooted as she held her heels in her hand. Effie's light blue dress was clinging to her body and Haymitch swallowed. The water had made the material of the dress see-through. He could make out the shape and outline of her curves and the colour of her bra.

He dragged his gaze away from her chest back up to her face. _Beautiful,_ he thought silently. Effie laughed, softly at first before she broke out into a full belly laugh, still clinging to his arm.

"You once told me in a restaurant to live a little. You were so certain in the belief that I had never played in the rain before, or made snow angels or walk barefooted with the grass beneath my feet. Well, you were right and now, I supposed things have changed - this qualifies as playing in the rain, yes?"

As though to emphasise her point, she let go of her hold on his arm and twirled around, her hands outstretched before her. When she stopped twirling to face him once again, she had a huge smile on her face. She brushed her hair away from her eyes and the corner of his lips curled into a smile, involuntarily.

He dipped his head, acknowledging her feat.

"Well done, little dove."

* * *

**A/N: I know that this chapter isn't as funny as the previous ones. But it's sweet in a way, no? I still hope you like it, though!**

**Tell me what you think! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Yeap, not mine.**

* * *

Chapter 7

Haymitch's demeanour seemed to have changed around her ever since. Effie had caught him on a few occasions studying her with something akin to wonderment. Much to her own confusion, Effie had felt flustered when she caught him looking at her and Effie felt proud that she had done something he had not expected.

At times, Effie thought she was imagining it but the way his eyes lingered on her was something new and they happened too many times over the past few days for her to be merely imagining it. Effie wasn't sure what it was that caused this subtle change in Haymitch. Perhaps it was the rain or it could have simply been the fact that Effie managed to prove him wrong as she willingly walked through the rain without so much as a complaint.

Haymitch had kept looking at her on the way home as though expecting her to start complaining about her soiled clothes or how terrible it was to walk barefooted drenched from head to toe at any given moment. Throughout the entire walk back to his house, she couldn't keep the smile off her face as she felt droplets of rain falling steadily against her skin. There was something soothing in it.

Haymitch hadn't talked much as they walked side by side but Effie noticed how he had slowed down to match her pace. It was almost sweet, reminiscent of a scene from the romance movie she had watched as a teenager - if it wasn't for the fact that it was Haymitch she was walking with.

_Or, it could be that odd moment we shared in front of the fire in his sitting room,_ she pondered to herself.

True to his words, once they had reached his house, Haymitch had settled down on the couch, his legs stretched out before him with a bottle of liquor in his hands. The fire had cast a soft warm glow on his face. Dressed in clean dry clothes, Effie busied herself in the kitchen preparing tea.

"Here, I made you a cup," she said, handing the tea to him.

He grunted his thanks and added alcohol to his tea before taking a sip. "Didn't kill you, did it?"

She smiled, looking down at the tea cup in her hands and answered him sheepishly, "No, it didn't."

"Try the snow, next time."

"You play in the rain often?" she asked.

"When I was a kid, yeah – with my little brother. Drove my mother mad when we walked into the house dripping wet, dirtying her floors."

Haymitch stared into the fire as he told her, a sad smile on his face. All those years of knowing him, Effie seldom heard him speak of his family.

They had managed not to tear each other's hair out since that day and Effie was glad for that moment of peace. In fact, she had almost begun to believe that Haymitch could possibly have accepted the truce offered to him as she removed the polish from his nails. Still, Effie couldn't help the nagging feeling that warned her to be on her guard – her instinct erring on the side of caution.

XxX

Effie felt a gust of air blowing against her hair. She dismissed it thinking it was probably the wind from the window she had left slightly ajar. Effie wrinkled her nose in annoyance and with her eyes still closed, turned on her side clutching the bolster close to her. She soon fell asleep unaware that Haymitch was crouching out of sight beside her bed - his hand clasped over his mouth trying not to let the sounds of his breathing reach her ears.

As the first rays of sunlight hit Effie, she yawned and stretched, lithe as a cat, breathing in the morning air of District Twelve. She could never understand people who grumbled and complained about having to get out of bed in the morning - morning being the most difficult time of the day for some, she was told.

She was always fresh and eager to conquer the day. She wasn't always that way, there were months in her life previously when she had not even gotten out of bed for days. Effie shook her head trying to clear her mind from revisiting those dark times when she was still recuperating from her ordeal of being taken prisoner. She was still coping even now, a few years after the war but she had learnt to be grateful of the second chance given to her which so many had been denied of.

Slowly, she made her way to the adjoining bathroom, standing in front of the mirror, squeezing toothpaste on her toothbrush. She looked up and the toothbrush clattered to the sink as she stared at her own reflection in horror. Effie's eyes were as wide as saucers, her hand flying to her hair, touching it frantically in disbelief.

She let out an ear piercing scream, "HAYMITCH!"

As quickly as her face morphed into one of shock, it contorted in fury. She stalked out of her room and marched over to his, where she assumed that the idiot drunk was passed out.

She saw a pillow on the floor, picked it up and with as much strength as she could muster –which was quite considerable considering the amount of adrenaline currently flowing through her – she brought it down on Haymitch's face, hard.

His reflexes kicked in. Haymitch jerked awake and in one swift movement had somehow managed to grab hold of her arm and twist her around, pinning her underneath him.

He blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to clear the sleep and his pupils focused on her. Effie had never realised how beautiful his eyes were but they were so close, his face mere inches from her. She could see the flecks of yellow in his grey eyes, the way they gleamed in the morning light and she found herself captivated by the sight of it.

She broke her gaze away and with it, severing that rather odd moment that she had.

"Get off me, you stupid man."

"I wasn't the one who attacked a defenseless person while he was sleeping," he retorted.

"My. Hair. Is. Red. It's red," she hissed at him angrily, enunciating each syllable clearly, gesturing towards her head. "So, yes, I think I have a good reason to attack you."

She pushed his chest angrily trying to get him off her but he didn't budge. Haymitch stared at her and shifted, so that his entire body weight was resting on his elbows on either side of her head. He ran his fingers through her hair and when he looked at her, Effie could see the glint in his eyes. He smiled triumphantly and echoed her words all those days ago back at her, "Pretty shade, little dove."

Effie gave a scream of frustration and Haymitch chuckled in amusement. "Payback's a bitch, yes? How are you gonna hide that pretty head of yours today, sweetheart?" He rolled off her and lay on his back beside her.

Effie lay paralysed. She was supposed to meet Katniss today for a visit down at the newly developed Seam. She couldn't go out now, not with her hair so prominent. She was a lady from the Capitol, and the people in Twelve were only just starting to accept her. It had taken them nearly two years to even acknowledge the fact that she was the Capitol's representative for Twelve and that she was trying to help them.

_Insensitive man._ _He probably doesn't realise that dyeing my hair this unnatural shade of magenta red would cause the people of Twelve to see me again as the same Escort who led their children to death._ They would think that she had not changed, but she had and Haymitch had just single-handedly ruined her efforts.

To make matters worse, he hadn't even had the decency to dye the whole of her head red. She was now sporting uneven patches of red hair mixing with her own honey blonde. They were not even in streaks of highlights. _Patches, honestly,_ she shuddered recalling the image of herself in the mirror. It was hideous and if they were still alive, Cinna and Portia would have cringed at the very sight of her.

"No," she groaned. She turned her head to look at him, "what sort of hair dye did you use? How long does it last? Did you read the instructions? Oh, for the love of Panem, did you destroy my hair in the process?"

"Too many questions – one at time."

Effie could tell that he was enjoying this immensely the way he laid on the bed with an arm folded across his stomach and another behind his head, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

_"... I have no desire to call a truce. You think I'm gonna let this slide?"_ the memory of his words floated to her mind.

_How could I have been so dumb? _She raged internally._ All those days when things were relatively going on well was just the calm before the storm._ Effie wouldn't be surprised if he had been plotting this for days. _Where did he even get this hair dye?_

"Answer the question, Haymitch Abernathy or so help me, I will file a formal complaint against you and make the committee re-elect a suitable candidate to represent Twelve at the meetings."

His head snapped to look at her, "You could do that?"

Effie wasn't sure if she could but that man infuriated her to no end and he didn't need to know that she had just made that up.

Effie stood up and glared down at him. "You have no idea how this will ruin me."

"Oh will you relax, it's just red hair. You painted my nails pink, sweetheart. Besides, I don't see how this is any different from the way you look all those years ago..." he paused at the sudden realisation. "Oh... Oh... Dammit."

"Exactly, I'm glad your alcohol-addled brain has finally caught up."

XxX

"Well, today's not good... Yes, I'm okay, just not feeling very well is all. You're terribly kind, Katniss. Of course, I'll give you a call again."

Effie hung up the phone and sighed in relief.

"You cancelled the trip?"

"Yes, sorry to disappoint you. Won't get your show today," she answered testily.

"It's hair spray. It won't last – the label says it goes off in about a week at most. Gotta use loads of shampoo, though," he told her.

"You are extremely childish," she said shaking her head, still angry at him.

He shrugged. "That's new. I've heard uncouth, bad-mannered and rude amongst others but never childish."

"Well you are," she replied. She had meant to say that he was a jackass but she was too polite to be swearing. "Now, help me wash my hair."

"What? No way, Trinket. I already told you how long it'll last."

"I helped you removed the nail polish!" she answered indignantly.

"You offered, I didn't ask for your help."

Her eyes narrowed into slits as she considered his words. She rubbed her temple and decided to leave the room, saving herself from any possible migraine.

XxX

"That's the third time you're shampooing your hair, Trinket. I'm getting tired standing here holding this shower head for you."

"You deserve it," she muttered as she worked the shampoo through her hair again. "Hey, you're getting water all over my clothes! If I had wanted to be drenched, I would have taken a shower and wouldn't ask you to help me."

Haymitch smirked. She carefully worked the shampoo through her hair and lathered it. Hopefully, from multiple washes, the colour of her hair would return to normal at a faster rate and she would be able to complete her duties and return back to the Capitol as soon as possible.

"Okay, I'm ready to rinse," she said, beckoning towards Haymitch. He held the shower head over her head as she bent forward to rinse her hair. She was careful not to let the shampoo run down from her neck to her clothes, preventing the suds from soaking it. "Hold it steady, Haymitch. Sweet mercy, you're getting water all over me. Don't you have any sort of motor coordination or something?"

"Must be difficult being a woman with long hair – what a complete waste of shampoo and water. And also a waste of time," he sneered. He took a swig from the bottle in his other hand.

Haymitch chuckled, "I mean really, I take lesser time than you washing my hair."

Effie rolled her eyes at his unwelcome commentary. "You washed your hair? I wouldn't know judging from how greasy and terrible it looks like all the time. I suggest you use a conditioner."

Effie waited for his reply but received none. They lapsed into silence before Haymitch asked, "How much longer will you be here?"

"Finishing soon, I just need to lather it with conditioner and –"

"In Twelve, little dove - not talking about your hair."

"Oh," she said slightly embarrassed. "Two more weeks, at the very most."

"Right. Do me a favour – try to leave my house as soon as conveniently possible. There are only so much of you that I can take at a time, you know?"

"And what makes you think that I can stand you?" she asked, wrapping a towel around her head.

He shrugged as he shut off the water. "You're always calling me on the phone when I return home. Makes me think you actually miss me. Now, now what would Marcus think, eh?"

Effie blushed and gaped at him feeling slightly mortified. "Well, then, I won't call you anymore. And, I'll try to wrap things up here so I can leave before you do any more damage to my person and irritate me to death."

She wasn't sure why she felt so bothered and disturbed at being asked to leave his house as soon as she could. Haymitch had made it clear when he argued with Plutarch that he hadn't wanted her in his house. Why then did it hurt so much?

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**A/N: This chapter sort of took a direction of its own. Still, I hope you find it enjoyable.** **I've already written Chapter 8 and I think you're gonna like that one. Ehehehe.**

**Reviews are love 3**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Didn't change over night. Still not mine.**

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Chapter 8

"He is insufferable, Marcus. I'm not surprised if he's doing all those nasty things just to get rid of me. Really, Marcus – no, I'm not over thinking it. He told me as much yesterday when he helped me washed my hair ..."

Haymitch stood outside the kitchen door listening in to the phone conversation Effie was having. He snickered at how wound up she seemed to be complaining about him to her lover. His face scrunched up at the thought of Effie and that... man together.

"Of course he helped me washed my hair, Marcus. What seems to be the problem? He ruined it; he should help me fix it. Anyway, as I was saying, he told me yesterday that he can't stand me. So it _is_ possible that he's doing this to get rid of me – and if he thinks I'll cave in that easily, he's got another thing coming!"

He peered in and saw the back of Effie's head as she stood by the sink, the phone cradled between her shoulder and her ear, while she cleaned the dirty plates from their dinner. She still looked ridiculous even if the magenta red had faded to a dull pink.

Effie had screamed and scrambled up the stairs with as much dignity as she could muster, her hands covering her hair when Katniss had walked in with Primrose on her arms the other day.

Haymitch and Katniss raised an eyebrow in unison at Effie's antics.

"Is everything okay with Effie?" Katniss had asked, rocking the little girl in her arms trying to calm her down after she burst into tears at hearing Effie's scream.

"No idea. Always knew she was a bit mad up here."

Haymitch tapped his index finger on the side of his temple as Katniss grinned and shook her head knowingly.

XxX

Haymitch walked into the room, a bottle of wine in hand. He poured some into a glass and placed it in front of Effie, on the only spot on the coffee table not covered by the multiple stacks of papers she was working on. She was sitting cross legged on the floor, shuffling through her stack of papers.

Effie looked up at the glass filled wine and then to Haymitch who had settled down on the sofa behind her.

"Thank you."

"Hmm," He poured some wine down his throat straight from the bottle. "Heard you on the phone just now – complaining about me, eh?" he chuckled.

Effie started and blushed, mortified that Haymitch had overheard her conversation. She tried to act unaffected, rearranging her already neatly stacked pile of papers.

"It is rude to eavesdrop," she said unconvincingly.

"Not when you're talking in the kitchen where everyone can hear you."

Effie kept quiet and continued doing what she had been doing while Haymitch sprawled on the sofa steadily working through the wine bottle, lazily watching her.

The silence between them grew and the lights flickered above them. The flickering lights annoyed Effie so much that she slammed the paper on the coffee table and turned around to look at him.

"What is wrong with your bulb? Can't you change it?"

Haymitch shrugged.

"I'm trying to work here, Haymitch, so I can get out of your hair and your house just like -"

The power went off. The house plunged into darkness and Haymitch laughed.

"No work for you tonight, it seems."

"What just happened?"

Haymitch couldn't make out her face in the darkness but he knew Effie had moved from where she was sitting and was currently standing at the end of the sofa where he had laid his head. He could smell her perfume as she moved.

"Power failure. Happens sometimes when there's a thunderstorm. Oh, you could add that to your report."

"What?" her tone was incredulous. "This isn't the first time it happened? Why didn't you bring it up during the meetings at the Capitol?"

"I did, little dove. Said they would look into it."

He could hear Effie mumbling to herself and picked up the phone. "The line's dead, too."

"Didn't know you were deaf, sweetheart. I said power failure. It means everything's dead."

She huffed and ordered him to at least light up the fireplace.

"The wood is outside and it's wet. So, I don't think so, Eff - there will not be a fire."

Effie gave a frustrated scream and hit him with a cushion. "Do something at least. Surely you have candles. Or torchlights. Everyone has torch lights for emergency and this is an emergency. We can't just sit around here in the dark all night."

"Don't see why I can't," he mumbled.

He got up nonetheless to search for a torchlight before Effie grew angry. She cried out in pain when she collided into a piece of furniture while following him to the kitchen in the dark.

"Go and wait for me in the sitting room. There's no need to follow me. I can get the torchlight myself."

"No, I'd rather... Don't want to stay there alone. It's terribly dark," she slipped her hand into his, holding on for balance as she hobbled after him gingerly holding her side. Haymitch stiffened when he felt the warmth of her hand in his. He took a deep breath to calm his breathing and tugged her hand forward.

"I do hope your torchlight is equipped with working batteries."

He shrugged in the dark. "We'll just have to see, don't we, little dove?"

He laughed when he heard her mutter under her breath about how he couldn't seem to take things seriously.

Haymitch yanked open a drawer fumbled in the dark. He found to his surprise, two torch lights he never knew he had. He switched it on after a few tries, knocking it a few times on his palm as Effie stood beside him tapping her foot impatiently. The gust of wind caused him to shudder - that was what he tried to tell himself, that it was the wind and not his close proximity to Effie.

He handed one of the lit torchlight over to Effie for her to hold and closed the kitchen window before switching another on and shining it around the kitchen. He grabbed the only candle he could find along with him. Just in case the batteries in the torch lights run out.

Slowly, Haymitch lead the way back out again to the sitting room.

"Ouch. That's my foot, you idiot. Must you wear heels in the house?" he grumbled and pointed the light down to her feet.

"Sorry, sorry. Hold on, I'll take it off."

She bent down, placed the torch she was holding on the floor and took off her heels, one hand still holding on to Haymitch for support. Without really thinking, she picked one heel up and placed it in Haymitch's arm for him to hold before removing the other.

She curled and uncurled her toes. "Ahh... Feels so much better now."

Haymitch cleared his throat, "I'm not your shoe rack."

He hurled her heels that were in his arms to the side, grabbed Effie's hand and with the torchlight lighting up the way, he dragged her towards the sitting room.

"Those were brand new heels!"

Haymitch ignored her and placed the candle he found earlier on the mantel piece above the fire place lighting the sitting room sufficiently enough that nobody will be tripping over pieces of furniture or fumbling about in the dark. The soft small light from the candle however had cast an eerie glow around the room.

Haymitch could hear the branches of the trees whipping outside, the sound of rain as it hits the rooftop of his house, the flash of lightning and the crackle of the thunder which caused Effie to jump in surprise each time.

Effie herself was holding to her own torchlight which she held out in front of her as she moved restlessly about the room. She peered out of the window towards the Mellarks' house. The thunderstorm had cut off the power in their house too.

"You know, since you can't do much work now, you might as well go to bed."

Effie turned and shook her head. "No, I don't think I can sleep with the thunder this loud."

She moved towards the sofa and Haymitch grunted as he sat up, making enough room for her.

"How long before the power goes up?"

"Depends. But it won't be so bad by morning."

She sighed. "I had planned to stay up all night today and finish up my work. I'm already done with the bulk of the work and had sent the report off to President Paylor's office. It's just the minor details that are left and if I could tie up the loose ends, I'll be done and I could go home."

Haymitch nodded his head, unsure of what he should say. He fumbled on the floor and tried to make out the shape on his whiskey bottle which he had stashed under the sofa.

When he found it, he offered it to Effie. "Nothing you can do now. Either wait this storm out, go to sleep or we can split this bottle."

XxX

"You drunk yet, little dove?" Haymitch asked, laughing.

"Nope," she replied, smacking her lips and wiping her mouth with the back of her hands.

"You are. You're tipsy already. The sober Effie Trinket would never have done that," he pointed towards her cheeks which were slightly damp from where she had wiped the alcohol across with her hands.

Effie laughed and shook her head; her blonde and patches of dull pink hair that had escaped from her elastic band flying about.

"No, I'm not. Light headed, but not drunk."

Together, they had finished the entire bottle of whiskey though Haymitch was sure he had drunk more than his allotted share of the bottle. He had never seen Effie work her way through half the contents of a liquor bottle. He was amused to see how that side of Effie would actually turn out.

She was not wasted or completely drunk yet. She still had her wits about her. Haymitch found it amusing to see her red-faced, her manners temporarily forgotten as she sat there by his side with no restriction or qualms about the words coming out of her mouth.

Haymitch handed her the half empty wine bottle which he was drinking from before the power was cut off and she accepted it without question.

"I don't really like him, you know?" her words had started to slur, still she twirled the wine bottle around and took a sip from it. "I just went to dinner with him one night 'cause he had been asking me for so long and I thought, why not? Just go to dinner, and at the end of the night I don't have to see him again."

"And what happened? How'd you end up with him now?" Haymitch asked curiously. Marcus had come up as a topic of conversation when Haymitch had asked her for the details she was complaining about while on the phone earlier.

"He was so nice. I couldn't say no to him when he sent me back home. So I agreed when he asked if I wanted to go out with him again."

Haymitch's shoulder shook with laughter trying to imagine Effie as she tried to let the guy down only to end up saying yes.

"So then... one date became two and then, well, here we are. And, it's not so bad, I could work with it. He's not what I dreamt of but we can't all be choosy and at least now, I'm not so lonely."

She smiled at him as she said it.

Haymitch cocked his head to the side and smirked at her. "Not what you dreamt of? Then what kind of men do you dream of, Trinket?"

It was almost unheard of but her face turned even redder as she blushed furiously at his question. She shook her head vehemently.

"No. No, I'm not telling you!" she hit his chest lightly and made to stand up, swaying lightly on her feet. "I think we both had enough to drink. I'm going to bed."

"Oh, no, you don't. Answer the question first, Trinket."

Haymitch wasn't sure what made him do it but instead of letting her go back to her room, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her flush against him. They stood facing each other in the dark with only the light from the single illuminated candle lighting up their faces. Effie's torchlight was rolling around on the coffee table, apparently forgotten while Haymitch had placed his on the floor beside the sofa he was sitting on.

Effie's eyes darkened as she looked up at him. He was so close to her that he could smell her perfume, her natural scent and her shampoo, and the smell of the liquor mixing together was making him heady. It was intoxicating and Haymitch could feel his pulse racing.

She blinked hazily before her lips broke out into a wide grin, her words slurring as she admitted, "Men from the district always had their appeal. They're more..."

Haymitch's eyes widened and his eyebrow disappeared into his hairline. _District men? _She blinked again as she tried to form a coherent sentence.

"... rugged and strong. Smouldering and rough on the edges. Like they needed to be saved and shown a little..."

She swayed slightly and Haymitch tightened his hold on her. He nearly stumbled back in surprise when her hands that had grabbed on to a fistful of his shirt uncurled and released itself only to grab him on both sides of his face. Her lips were on his in a desperate, hungry kiss.

His senses exploded. He tried to catalogue as much as he could – her taste as he kissed her back roughly, her hands roaming his chest and unbuttoning his shirt clumsily, her breasts pressing against him, the curve of her hips as he ran his hands down and lifted her up, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist.

Haymitch wasn't aware how he managed to move from the sitting room, climb the stairs and into her bedroom in the dark as they each tried to overpower one another.

He collapsed on top of her on the bed and his hand slipped underneath her tight satin green skirt. His fingers skimmed the edges of her silk panties and Haymitch was about to pull them down when he stopped and looked at her.

Her eyes had lost its focused, her breath smelled of whiskey and her face was red. _Drunk_, he thought. _She won't remember this in the morning._ He swallowed the sudden bitter taste in his mouth. Her hand stroked his cheek and pulled him by the scruff of his neck down towards her.

"Don't stop. You're so good, such a great kisser..." she mumbled.

"Not like this. Stop it, Effie. Not when you're like this," he said sternly although he doubted she even knew what was going on.

Haymitch shook his head and tried to push himself off her but she had her arms wound around his neck and was trailing wet kisses on the side of his neck, sucking on the sensitive skin where his pulse was.

The lights began to flicker and Haymitch looked up at the light bulbs. Sometime during their drinking session, the storm had stopped and someone in town must have tried to fix the power. The lights went on and Haymitch squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden brightness.

It was still dark outside; morning was still a few hours away. But as the power went back on, it reminded Haymitch that Effie was not his and if she found out that he had taken advantage of her while she was drunk, even if it had not been his intention to make her drunk, she would have hated him.

_Can't have that,_ he thought bitterly to himself. _Better her friendship than her hatred._

He pried Effie's hands away from his neck and kissed her softly on the forehead. He untangled himself from her and tugged the sheets up to her chin.

"Go to sleep, goodnight."

He turned off the lights, closed her doors and trudged back to his room. He opened another bottle and drank until he passed out on the bed, the ghost of Effie's touch still lingered on his skin.

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**I like this chapter. Do you? I hope you do. :/**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: The same as all of my previous disclaimers.**

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Chapter 9

Effie held her head between her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. _Note to self – never ever drink with Haymitch, again._

She rummaged through her drawer looking for aspirin tablets and found none. Mumbling to herself, she slowly shuffled to Haymitch's room.

_I'll never hear the end of it. He'll never let me live this down._

She groaned to herself. Effie was sure that Haymitch would laugh at her inability to hold her alcohol and bring it up whenever he could. Entering his room, she pushed aside the duvet and sat at the edge of his bed. Effie shook his arm.

"Haymitch. Haymitch, wake up."

He grunted, one of his eyes opening a crack to see who it was. When he saw her, his reaction was instantaneous. He scrambled as far away as he could to the other edge of the bed. She looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"What are you doing here?"

"Erm... my head – it's pounding. Do you have anything to get rid of this hangover? Aspirin, maybe?"

He jerked his head towards his bedside drawer and Effie immediately rummaged through it. She dry swallowed the pills and collapsed on his bed, her hands covering her face against the light streaming through his bed room window. Effie felt him shift beside her and even if she knew that Haymitch had probably never seen such behaviour from her, she found that she couldn't bring herself to care at that moment. Effie had never experienced such terrible hangovers before.

She let her mind wander as she lay there waiting for the room to stop spinning and for her eyes not to hurt so much. She had woken up in her own bed which in itself she thought, was a good start. _Something else had happened. _She had that nagging feeling.

Effie's entire body tensed, her hand slowly trailed down her face and to her lips. They had been talking about Marcus and then... She had kissed him._I,__ Effie Trinket, kissed him._ Her eyes flew open and she jerked upright into a sitting position.

Haymitch was looking at her curiously. Her head was spinning with the realisation. Was that all that happened? They had only kissed, didn't they?

"Yesterday... We... Uh –"

"Yeah," he answered simply.

"Nothing else happened?"

"No,"

_Is he angry with me?_ She thought to herself. Haymitch didn't seem himself. He hadn't made any snarky remarks or commented on her inability to hold her alcohol and he hadn't even make fun of her throwing herself at him.

"Can we forget about it, Haymitch? If you ever tell anyone, I will deny it."

His face changed and he smirked. Effie could see bits of himself creeping in. "Afraid what that boyfriend of yours might say, don't you?"

Her eyes widened. _Marcus._ She hadn't even thought of him. Effie cleared her throat and glared at Haymitch.

"It happened between you and me. So if you don't tell anyone, I'm sure there wouldn't be any problem."

"Of course - we wouldn't want the entire Panem to know that the uptight Effie Trinket threw herself on a drunken man from Twelve," he said mockingly.

Effie gritted her teeth. _That __man's__ infuriating and intolerable._ She got up from his bed, thanked him for the aspirin and disappeared for the rest of the day.

XxX

Effie was plotting. Haymitch had said something, ".._wouldn't want the entire Panem..._" Something had clicked into place and she was currently at the Mellarks' kitchen with a phone in her hand and watching over little Primrose at the same time while her parents visited town to run some errands.

She hung up the phone with a gleeful smile on her face. Tomorrow would be an interesting day and Effie couldn't wait for it.

The sound of the geese honking in the distance caught her attention and she peered out of the window to see Haymitch standing in his backyard feeding the geese in the pen. Effie smiled to herself - she had never understood why he chose to keep geese to start with. She watched him as he moved about; checking the metal coils he had used to built the pen surrounding the geese.

_I kissed him_. Effie still couldn't reconcile the fact that she had done it and she had no idea how she felt about it. She had thought that she would feel disgusted but she wasn't. The more she thought of it, the more curious she became. She wished she could remember what it was like to kiss him but the only thing that stuck out from her fuzzy memory was how solid he had felt against her.

XxX

She walked beside Haymitch towards the Seam, almost as tall as him in her 6 inches pair of wedges. Their walk was interrupted by a tall anorexic woman with flowing hair and streaks of orange highlights, as well as yellow extensions to her eyelashes.

Haymitch stopped in his tracks and scowled at her.

"Move," he commanded.

"Mr. Abernathy!" the woman gushed out. Quickly, she gestured towards her companion who stepped out of from behind a wall and snapped a picture of Haymitch with his big camera.

Effie hastily stepped back out of the way. It was easy to tell that the woman and the man was a Capitol citizen – their fashion sense had mellowed and toned down since the Rebellion but some of them still stood out like a sore thumb. The man with the big camera was dressed in a leopard print jacket, the sleeves pulled to his elbows to reveal tattoos of varying odd designs.

Another flash goes off and Effie could see the irritation in Haymitch's face. Her lips curled in a smirk. The woman stepped forward, invading his personal space and took out a pad of paper.

"I'm so glad I bumped into you, Mr. Abernathy. I'm Natalia – Oh, this is going to be great. I just have a few questions, an interview with you –"

"Get out of my face. I will not be giving you an interview."

Natalia's cameraman had circled Haymitch like a prey, snapping his photos. "Stop that or I will break your camera."

Effie saw the man lowered his camera briefly and looked questioningly at Natalia who gestured for him to continue clearly unfazed by Haymitch's rude and unreceptive response.

"Now, Haymitch – I can call you Haymitch, can't I?" she smiled coyly up at him, tapping her pen against his chest. Effie frowned.

"How about we talk about your pivotal role in the Rebellion and your motivation to –"

"Sweetheart, right now, the only motivation I have is to punch you in the face. But I have a strict code of principles – I don't hit women. Get out of my way. I will not tell you again," he hissed angrily.

Natalia faltered and her eyes flickered briefly up at Effie who shrugged apologetically at her. Effie could see the doubt in her eyes.

"Oh, perhaps you're not comfortable here talking to me. How about we go... somewhere private where I can interview you? It's for the papers, you see. People are interested to know more about you. You've always been such a mystery – how about that then, Haymitch? You and I, and my friend here..." she gestured towards the camera man, "... well, he can accompany Ms Trinket."

Haymitch scoffed. "Not a chance. Come along, little dove."

"Little dove? Oh, that's a cute pet name. Are the two of you...?" she pointed and waved her pen between Effie and Haymitch, her eyes sparkling with glee at this sudden new piece of gossip.

"No. Oh, no, no. Don't be getting any ideas," Effie was quick to dissolve such unwanted notions.

"What are you doing here in Twelve?" Haymitch asked.

"I'm a reporter. It's my job to travel around for news."

XxX

Haymitch had dragged her away from the duo and they had taken routes which Effie had never knew existed.

"Haymitch, Haymitch – slow down. They're gone. I don't think they're after us,"

Haymitch shook his head and tugged her wrist, urging her to move. "No, no. I know these reporters – they're like vultures. They don't give up."

He stopped suddenly and Effie collided into his back. He moved back, still holding on to Effie's wrist and pulled her into a corner. He backed her up against the wall and Effie squeaked in surprise. His hand came up to clamp over her mouth. He peered around the corner and quickly retracted again.

Effie had not imagined this ever happening when she had planned this entire charade. She had not taken into account that Haymitch might have dragged her along in his bid to get away from the paparazzi.

Then again, Natalia was not supposed to be here until much later. She was supposed to have cornered Haymitch when he went off to the bar at night and Effie was safely at his house – not while she was on the way to the Seam with Haymitch doing her work.

The situation was getting a little uncomfortable for her now, pressed against the wall by Haymitch's body. She could feel the warmth emanating for his body, and her eyes strayed inevitably to his lips. She had to do something before she embarrassed herself. Effie bit down on Haymitch's palm and he quickly released his hand from her mouth.

"Ouch! Couldn't you have asked nicely?"

"You were covering my mouth. How was I supposed to ask you?" she asked him rhetorically. "Are they gone? Can we go now? Would you mind – my personal space," she pushed him off lightly but all he did was gaze down on her.

"Effie, you need to learn to ask one question at a time. You need to learn to breathe. I really don't understand how anyone could -"

"What's going on?"

Their heads swivelled towards the voice. Peeta was standing there carrying a paper bag filled with groceries, a confused look etched on his face. He glanced sideways and stepped closer to the pair of them.

"Here?" Peeta whispered. "Where everyone can simply just walk pass and see you? Come on, guys, you're like my parents ... please don't –"

Haymitch moved back at the same time Effie pushed him off her. He stumbled on his feet and his hand shot out to the wall to steady himself. Effie's face was red with embarrassment.

"No – it's not what you think, Peeta. We weren't... I would never –", she covered her face with her hand. "Oh no, people are going to talk."

Haymitch laughed to dispel the awkwardness that had settled in. "We're hiding from some Capitol reporters. Take your mind out of the gutter, Peeta."

Peeta looked confused for a moment before his face broke into a sheepish grin..

"I just thought... you know? The way that you two have been acting around each other, well it –"

"What?"

"Nothing – just forget it. I won't talk about what I saw, either."

"That's 'cause there's nothing to talk about. Nothing happened."

The two men were walking in front of Effie, who followed them from behind. Their heads were bent and their voices were low so Effie couldn't make out what they were saying. From the look of Haymitch's face though, Effie could see that he wasn't amused. If anything, he looked annoyed.

They lost the duo and reached the Seam without any further complications. Peeta bade them goodbye and left for his home.

Effie was speaking to Greasy Sae at the Seam when it happened. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Natalia approaching and slid up to Haymitch who was sitting at the bar nursing a drink.

_Ah, they've found us. _

Haymitch's face looked thunderous when he realised who was standing beside him. The flashes from the camera caught the attention of a few of the people milling about in the Seam.

"He doesn't look too happy," Greasy Sae remarked nodding towards Haymitch. "That man hates attention."

"I know," Effie said grinning.

"Ah..." the older woman smiled knowingly at Effie. "I've heard the stunt you pulled on our dear Haymitch - the pink nails. This is one of your ideas again? Setting the reporter on his trail?"

Effie dipped her head, embarrassed at getting caught. "Yes, it was. Natalia used to work for the Ga... She was my colleague. She owed me a favour."

They both looked at Haymitch whose patience had run out. He grabbed the camera from the surprised man and hurled it against a wall where it shattered into pieces and stormed out of the place.

He brushed past Effie, "I'm going home. Find your own way – ask around if you don't know how. Those crazies are driving me insane. See you."

Once he was out of ear shot, Greasy Sae and Effie started giggling finding amusement in his annoyance. Natalia approached Effie, grinning wildly.

"How'd I do?" she asked.

"Brilliant. I think he hates you now," Effie replied, laughing at the memory of Haymitch's black face.

"I'm going to go after him. Follow him around for a bit more," Natalia told her.

XxX

Effie shook her hair free from the elastic band, wiping the dirt on her shoes on the door mat as she stepped into the threshold of Haymitch's house. He was peering out of a curtain towards the direction of the walkway.

"She's not here. Nobody followed me home."

"Hmmm," he looked up at her and back out of the window. "They followed me when I left the Seam."

Effie laughed. "What'd you do to them then?"

"Nothing. Just led them around Twelve – on a wild goose chase. It was rather hilarious to see them trying to keep up with me while I walk around town aimlessly."

"So they lost you eventually?"

"Nah. I think that woman – what was her name again?"

"Natalia."

"Ah yes, her." He walked around to where Effie was sitting on the sofa and plopped down beside her. "I think she got tired after a while. Gave up, probably. I saw her sitting on a large rock by the road side. What a sight - I wished I could take a picture of that."

XxX

They were in the kitchen having dinner when a persistent tapping of a pen against the glass window caught their attention.

Haymitch groaned audibly and cursed loudly, "Fuck me, how'd they find my house?"

"Language, Haymitch," Effie chided him; an automated response on her part.

Natalia grinned and waved at them. Her friend appeared with what looked like a pocket camera, a spare one which Haymitch had not destroyed. Haymitch strode over and open the window so forcefully that Natalia jumped back, checking herself for any injuries.

"I'm telling you, woman, go home. I'm not giving you any interviews."

"Okay. Okay, calm down," she said, holding her hand up in surrender in front of her. "How about a picture and an autograph, then?"

Haymitch yanked the window closed and pulled the curtains closed.

"You could have just given her the autograph. She would have left," Effie suggested.

"Why should I?" he said through a mouthful of food.

Effie shrugged. "I didn't even know the paparazzi were still interested in you," she watched his reaction.

He grinned at her. "Apparently, I still have my appeal. And you know what? She wasn't the only one who found me appealing," he looked at her pointedly.

Effie looked back at him, confused. Then she realised that he was making a reference to what happened yesterday night. Effie's face morphed into one of horror. She tried to desperately recall if she had called him appealing or hinted at it. Effie couldn't remember the details and replied coolly to Haymitch, "Whoever found you appealing must be blind. Have you looked at yourself?"

Haymitch sniggered but dropped the subject.

"Anyway, did you have to break Eric's camera, the poor man was only –"

"How'd you know his name?"

"I – uh... Well, you know, I know people and he's among the many that –"

"You know important people. You know people that could help us during the Games – sponsors, Gamemakers, not a cameraman."

His eyes narrowed and his head tilted. Effie could almost see the gears turning in his head and she knew he figured it out when the questioning look vanished to be replaced by a frown.

"You set the paparazzi on me, didn't you? You sneaky, foul, evil little –"

"Stop right there," she interjected.

"Did you? Admit it."

She laughed softly and looked up at him, "Well, it was funny. And, I for one, certainly can't wait to see your photos that Eric had taken."

"I destroyed his camera," he reminded her triumphantly.

"Be that as it may," she said, "but all pictures taken by the cameraman are send directly to their office for ... exactly this reason. In case people like you destroy them. Why'd you think he didn't seem too affected by his broken camera?"

Haymitch made a noise of displeasure and pushed the plate away, seemingly having lost his appetite.

"And what are you going to do with those pictures, sweetheart? Frame it up in your house? Careful there, or Marcus will think that you're... in love with me," he drawled out, the corner of his lips curled into a sardonic smile.

Effie rolled her eyes.

"People might think you're jealous the way you keep bringing Marcus' name up. You're not jealous, are you?" she retaliated.

Haymitch stared at her for what felt like the longest time, his lips pressed closed together as though he was desperate to hold back whatever he had wanted to say. His fists were clenched at his side and Effie back off slowly when she began to feel the rage radiating off him. As quickly as it came, it was gone and he stalked out of the kitchen. She heard the door to his bedroom slam shut.

Effie smoothened out her dress and tried to calm herself. She had no idea what just happened but Haymitch couldn't possibly be fuming with that much anger just because she had set up some reporter on him. Natalia didn't even do him any harm - none of what happened today was going to be reported or published.

Effie breathed out and decided to start packing her things. Her work here in District Twelve was nearly done and because she was herself an extremely organised person, she figured that it would be easier if she started packing slowly. She wouldn't have to rush later on.

Still, even as she was packing, she couldn't help thinking of the enigma that was the man in the room next door to her.

* * *

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	10. Chapter 10

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**Disclaimer: I am still not rich, so it doesn't belong to me. **

* * *

Chapter 10

"Oh, you're awake. I made scrambled eggs, toast and bacon. There's also tea in the pot," she waved him over as he entered the kitchen, bleary-eyed.

Effie set up the breakfast before him and poured him some tea, placing his silver flask of whiskey beside his tea cup. He looked up at her questioningly. She was usually adamant about the fact that he shouldn't be drinking so early in the morning.

"I'm sorry," she said. "About the reporters."

_Ah, a peace offering._

"No you're not," he stated, stabbing the scrambled eggs with his fork. Haymitch enjoyed eating the meals cooked by Effie, though he had never once told her and would never admit that to her.

"Yes, okay, maybe I'm not entirely sorry. But I don't want to leave on a bad note. We still have to work together at the Capitol."

She was leaning against the kitchen counter, sipping a cup of tea. After years of working with her, Haymitch had learnt that Effie Trinket needed tea before she could start her day.

"So, you're leaving then? Soon?"

"Sooner than you might think," she grinned at him. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning."

He was biting off a piece of bacon when he paused midway as her words sank in.

"Tomorrow morning, yes," she repeated, still smiling at him. "Best if I finish packing now."

She pushed herself off the counter, placed her teacup in the kitchen sink and as she walked passed by him, she ruffled his hair.

"I bet my buttons you're overwhelmed with happiness now," she said, laughing.

He was still too stunned to even react to her ruffling his hair like a child. _No, no. Tomorrow is too soon._

Haymitch had waited for the day that she would leave but now that it was here, he found out that he would have liked her to stay around a little while longer. As irritating and infuriating as she was, it was fun with her around for him to annoy at every turn. Now that she would be leaving, he would have to go back to living his days alone until he could see her again during the meetings at the Capitol.

He had thought that she would be staying for another week or so which would give him enough time to give her a proper payback for the stunt with the reporters.

Well, desperate times called for desperate measures. He sat there at the kitchen, drumming his fingers against the table as he pondered his next move. He needed her around a little bit longer.

_Just to plot a proper revenge, nothing to do with the insane possibility that I might miss her._

He nibbled on another piece of bacon, his mind running through the things he could do to annoy her as a final send off before she returned home. What he needed was more time. _What would make her stay without me having to ask?_

The chuckle that escaped from him sounded twice as loud in the empty kitchen. He was as gleeful as a child. Effie wouldn't know what hit her if he pulled this off flawlessly.

XxX

That night, they were once again back in the kitchen. The only difference was that Haymitch was the one setting out the table as Effie sat watching him suspiciously.

"Okay, something is definitely not right. Why are you being so… Well I don't know if nice is the appropriate word," Effie commented.

"Well, don't get used to it, sweetheart. Don't expect me to be –" he glanced over his shoulder to look at her, "nice to you again. One time only."

He laid out the takeaway food he had bought from town and settled down opposite Effie. She scrutinised him and watched him warily.

"Will you relax?" he told her off.

"I can't! I just don't feel good about this – you're not being you. I should be wary. What did you do, huh?"

She leaned forward on the table, her eyes narrowing accusingly at him.

"I haven't done anything. Well, I bought you dinner, if that counts."

She sighed and Haymitch smiled at her, turning on the charm that he possessed but kept hidden unless he needed it to get something. And right now, he needed her to trust him.

"Why?" she asked, but she had already started eating. He watched her before following suit.

Shrugging, Haymitch answered, "Let's just call this a celebration. I won't have to deal with you in my house starting from tomorrow."

He raised his wine glass in a mock salute and Effie shook her head, rolling her eyes at him.

"Childish," she muttered.

"More wine?" he asked and poured her some.

"Well look at you," she said. "All those lunches we had at the Capitol and the lessons on manners finally paid off, I see. Acting like a gentlemen, now are we?"

"Don't mock me, Trinket."

She laughed.

XxX

Haymitch rested his head against the headboard, a bottle of whiskey in his hand. Glancing at the clock, he noted that it was three in the morning and ever since his Games, Haymitch had become a nocturnal creature which meant he hardly ever slept unless he was passed out drunk.

He listened to the sound of running water coming from bathroom and smirked to himself. From the thin walls separating each room, he could easily hear the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing multiple times, and her footsteps making her way from her room to the bathroom.

Well, his plan seemed to be working.

Haymitch felt the bed dip under the extra weight and opened his eyes a crack, only then realising that he must have fallen asleep at some point. Effie was sitting at the edge of the bed looking pale.

"What?" he mumbled.

"I'm going to miss my train."

"What time is it?" he grunted in response.

"Half past six," came her reply.

"So, why aren't you ready and out of my house yet?" he turned and lay on his side, facing her.

"I can't. I'm not feeling very well… I- I…Ummm," she looked away, embarrassed.

Haymitch tried to hide the smile by burying his face in his pillow because he knew exactly what was wrong with her. When he got himself under control, he looked up again and asked, "What is it, Trinket?"

"I have … Diarrhoea," she mumbled quietly.

"What?"

He heard her. But it was fun to watch her squirm and admit that like any other normal mortal, Effie Trinket did contract the typical illness. It was humanizing, to say the least.

"I said - I'm having diarrhoea. Oh, Haymitch, it's terrible, I spent the entire night – "

"Oh yeah, I heard you going in and out of the bathroom."

Her face turned a deep shade of red. "You – you heard?"

He nodded. _Mission accomplished. Killed two birds with one stone – she isn't going back to the Capitol today and he's got his revenge for the whole reporter debacle._

"It must be something I ate. I'm sure of it. Oh –", she turned to look at him. "The dinner you bought yesterday from town…"

"What about it?"

"We ate the same food, Haymitch!"

"If you have a point, little dove, now's the time to make it."

"You're telling me you feel perfectly fine? You're not ill?"

He shook his head, smirking at her. "You probably have sensitive Capitol digestive system. Oh, you poor little thing."

He watched her eyes narrowed dangerously as he teased her. She opened her mouth to say something, but clutched her stomach instead.

"Oh, no," she groaned and bolted out of his room.

XxX

Haymitch was beginning to think that it was wasted effort trying to keep her in District Twelve. She spent the entire day in her room and each time he passed by it to check on her – to make sure she was still alive and nothing more – he saw her curled on her bed, clutching her stomach.

He sighed and peeked into her room. "Might have given her too much," he muttered to himself.

"Trinket, you look like a dying bird, little dove," he chuckled. "That's funny, 'cause a dove is a bird, see."

Effie turned to face him and if looks could kill, he would have been dead.

"Go away, Haymitch," she groaned.

"Yes, I'm here to tell you that I'm going to town."

"You're going to leave me alone in this condition?" she raised her head, her eyes begging for him to stay. "What if… What if I collapse on the way to the bathroom because I'm too weak and exhausted?"

He rolled her eyes. "Save your theatrics, Trinket. I'll be back in less than an hour."

He had nearly reached the stairs when he doubled back and poked his head into her room, "Oh, and if you collapse, use that shrill voice of yours to good use and shout for help. I'm sure Katniss and Peeta will come running to assist the princess in distress."

Haymitch left with a smirk on his face.

When he returned, he saw Effie in the kitchen with a cup of tea in her hand. He tossed the medicine wrapped in brown paper in front of her.

"It's supposed to help with the cramping and all that stuff," he explained and went to get himself a bottle of whiskey.

"You got me medicine?" she smiled up at him. "Careful there, Haymitch, it seems like you're starting to care."

"Why don't you just take it and don't make me regret getting it for you?"

XxX

The phone ringing in the sitting room broke the silence in the house. It was swiftly followed by Effie's voice shouting from her room upstairs.

"Haymitch, are you going to pick it up?!"

He grumbled and muttered under his breath about bossy women. Effie had been enclosed in her room since morning, not straying too far away from the safety of the bathroom even though the traditional herbal medicine had worked wonders since she had taken it yesterday afternoon.

"What?" he barked into the phone.

"Good afternoon, you must be Haymitch Abernathy," said the voice on the other line.

"Who the hell are you?"

"My name's Marcus Mitchell. I'm at the train station at the Capitol, waiting for Effie but she isn't here yet. Do you happen to know if her train was delayed?"

_Marcus Mitchell? What sort of name –_

"Mr. Abernathy?"

"What? Oh, she's here."

There was pause on the other line. "She hasn't left?"

"If she's here, it would be impossible for her to have left, wouldn't it?" he sneered.

_This guy sounds like an idiot,_ he thought to himself.

"Right, yes… Of course," he stuttered. "Well, could you pass the phone to her, please? I would like to speak to her."

"No," he said. "She's busy."

"What is she – "

"You know what? So am I. Goodbye."

XxX

Haymitch balanced a tray of soup and tea and made the slow climb up the stairs towards Effie's room. Peeta had stopped by his house with soup for Effie with strict instructions to follow.

"She needs to rehydrate and replenish the nutrients she's lost according to Katniss. Make sure she eats them," the boy ordered.

_People do enjoy bossing me around,_ he grumbled to himself.

The door to her room was half closed so he easily pushed it open with a nudge from his shoulder. She wasn't in her room which meant she must be in the bathroom. Effie entered a moment later looking fresh out of the shower. She had regained some of the glow she had and looked healthier compared to the previous day.

"Is that for me?" she pointed towards the bowl of soup.

"Yes, from Peeta. You're to have them and I'm under strict instructions to make sure that you do."

Her loose curls swung from side to side as she shook her head. "No. No, I can't. The thought of consuming anything makes me feel physically ill, again."

She crawled under the covers and flipped open a book, ignoring Haymitch who was standing by the door frowning at her.

"Well, at least drink the tea! I'll throw the soup down the sink and tell Peeta you ate all of them."

Crossing the room to her bed, Haymitch picked up the cup of tea and handed it over to her. "Drink," he commanded.

She obliged reluctantly, sipping the tea slowly and after a while, she reached out and started spooning the soup into her mouth. Sitting on the edge of her bed, Haymitch watched her to make sure she ate enough.

"Funny thing is, I didn't vomit at all yesterday - which is odd," she said, starting a conversation.

"And why do you find that so odd?"

"Because when I have food poisoning – rare though it might be – I'm always vomiting," she explained.

_Right, _he thought to himself. _Best to change the topic, before she finds out that it's not food poisoning._

"Your Capitol lover called yesterday," he informed her.

"And you're only telling me this now?" she snapped.

"Wasn't exactly important enough to me, so naturally, I don't remember it."

She rolled her eyes. "And why do you have to make it sound like I have a District lover and a Capitol lover."

When she realised what she said, she blushed and Haymitch smirked.

"It totally slipped my mind to inform him that I won't be coming home today. He must be so worried," she moaned.

"Yes, I'm sure he must be. Worried sick about how I have possibly tied you to a chair in the basement, held you against your will with a plan to ransom him off his money in my mind."

"Hush now, Haymitch. No need to mock. You did tell him I was ill, did you not?"

"No," he answered.

She raised an eyebrow and looked at him as though he was an idiot. "Why not? What did you tell him?"

"Told him you were busy. He was about to say something – something stupid, I bet – so I cut him off and told him that _I _was busy," he shrugged, clearly not at all concerned.

"What? Oh sweet mercy, Haymitch! He's going to think… Oh no, no. He's going to think that we – "she gestured to the space between them, and left her sentence hanging.

He looked at her, puzzled before he burst out laughing when he realised what she meant.

"He'll think we're busy having sex? Not very trusting is he?"

She smacked his arm with a pillow and huffed in annoyance. "Well, isn't that what you would think, if you called your girl and got that kind of response from her colleague?"

He wheezed and tried to stop laughing. "Perhaps, if her colleague is…what's the word again? The ones you used that night of the storm?"

Sparing her a glance, he watched as she frowned before looking up at him fearfully. He knew she didn't remember much of what happened that night and she was probably quaking in fear at the thought of what she might have let slipped.

"Oh yes. _Rugged and strong, rough on the edges._ There was something else…," he tapped his temple with his index finger and pretended to give it some thought. "You said it's like we needed to be saved and shown a little something. All of this was before you kissed me, of course."

Effie was leaning against the head board, her pupils dilated as she watched him. He had leaned forward, leaning his upper body weight on his palm.

"What is it that we needed to be shown, little dove? I've been wondering," he dropped his voice to a whisper and watched as she gulped, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze.

"N-nothing. I don't know, I can't remember," she stuttered out.

"Of course you know. It's what you've been keeping inside all this while. Come on, tell me. I won't tell a soul," he said coaxing her. He was aware that his hand was pressing down on the mattress of her bed inches from her waist, and if he leaned forward slightly, his nose would brush hers. He was breaching her personal space and she hadn't made a complaint yet.

"Haymitch…"

"Yes? Shown what, sweetheart?"

"Tenderness," she blurted out. He cocked his head to the side, an amused smile playing on his lips.

"Really? That's all?"

The deep blue irises of her eyes constricted as her pupils dilated further and her breath expired in short bursts.

"Shown a little gentleness and affection," she whispered, never taking her eyes off him. He moved back slightly, giving her back her personal space.

"Tenderness, gentleness and affection?" he repeated those words. "Then maybe, you shouldn't have killed our children."

She blinked and sucked in her breath. He knew why. He had never once mentioned the Games since it was eradicated but he had to now. He needed to remind himself who he was and who the woman in front of him was. He had begun to lose sight of her since the Games ended. In his eyes, she was no longer the Escort but a woman trying to lead her life. She was a rebel who had fought with them and was now working to make Panem a better place.

Haymitch needed to hold on to the past, however slight it might be, to remind himself that she once belonged to the community of people who had killed his family. He needed it to temper his overwhelming desire for her, to end the need slowly taking hold of him, telling him to fight for her and make her his.

He had a taste of what it was like to have her in his arms and to kiss her, and he wanted more. Telling himself that one kiss was enough had not worked very well and it was driving him to the edge.

"Haymitch? You're scaring me. You've never–" her hand curled around his wrist. He gripped the mattress sheet in turn.

"I know," he grinned, trying to diffuse the tension. He moved forward and kissed her cheek, hoping that the uncharacteristic gesture would distract her from what he was about to tell her.

"It's not food poisoning."

She turned her head so fast towards him, that her lips were inches from the corner of his mouth.

"What?!" she hissed.

_Didn't work - she's apparently not distracted._

"Laxatives. In the food I bought for you."

"You son of a –"

He swallowed her protest the only way he knew how, in an open mouthed kiss. She stiffened in shock before he felt her arms slowly trailing up his and circling his neck, pulling him closer.

He had no resolve left when it came to her. Giving in to the moment, he deepened the kiss, tangling his hand in her soft blonde curls. Effie was already leaning against the headboard, so he crawled on to her bed, her hands moved to grip the collar of his shirt, urging him closer towards her. He swung his legs on either side of her body, pressing his lips harder against hers.

She made him forget that this was wrong. That she had someone waiting for her back home. What they were doing felt so right and he tried not to let it bother him. From the way she was fervently kissing him back, she wanted it as much as he does.

_It's not like she is engaged or married, right? He's just her boyfriend._

That thought was enough to make him pause. Effie pulled away, breathless and looking up at him with a slightly daze expression.

"You don't want this," he told her but it seemed to be more for his benefit. It sounded weak to his own ears.

"I don't know," she whispered, nibbling on her bottom lip. He brought his hand up and trailed his thumb on her lower lip, a little swollen and bruised from his kisses. _His._

"But I need this," she admitted softly. His lips touched hers again, her hands flat against his chest.

He was still listening to her but he couldn't stop himself, he needed to taste her. Every inch of her skin. "I'm not blind or ignorant, Haymitch. I – I've noticed the … tension -" she breathed out, moaning softly as he kissed her neck "- between us. If we… If we just purge it out, act on it… Maybe it'll get better. Won't it?"

He nodded against her neck, not entirely sure what he was agreeing to as long as she let him touch her. The chaos raging in his mind prevented any rational thought on his part. All he knew was that he needed the woman under him right now. Her hands clumsily worked on the button on his shirt, tugging it free. He made short work of her dress and her bra.

He ran his hand across the flat span of her stomach, finally allowing himself to feel what he had been imagining all these while. Her skin was smooth and he kissed his way from her stomach, up between the valley of her breast and sucking on the hollow of her throat.

When he latched his mouth on one of her nipples, her hands on the waistband of his trousers stilled and she unconsciously arched her back. His name falling from her lips had never sounded sweeter. For once, it wasn't laced with anger, irritation or exasperation.

He spread her legs once they had gotten rid of the last piece of fabric between them. Haymitch dropped feather light kisses from her toe to her inner thigh, biting and suckling on the sensitive skin, leaving a mark and teasing her. Effie squirmed under his ministrations. She sighed and moaned, and he felt her grip on his hair tightened when he flicked his tongue to have a taste of her. Looking up, he saw that Effie had her eyes closed, as she held and guided him between her legs.

"Haymitch…," she moaned. "I can't - please."

He slipped a finger inside her without warning and she bucked involuntarily, her hips thrusting upwards. Her hands moved from his hair to his wrist, trying to set a pace for herself that she liked but Haymitch was quick to grab her hands and pinned them above her head as he worked his fingers in her. Soon, he felt her walls clenched and he pulled out his fingers abruptly.

Haymitch lifted her chin so that she was looking at him. He wanted to see her when he entered her. Effie smiled shyly up at him and caressed his stubble cheek. He released her hand which was quick to latch onto his shoulders, her nails digging into his flesh as he eased himself inside her.

"Effie," he groaned out her name. "Oh, Effie."

He moved slowly, trying to get Effie used to the feeling of him in her. Haymitch clenched his jaw; his needs demanded that he pick up the pace but he didn't want to hurt her.

Suddenly conscious of what she said about District men being rough and rugged, he began to thrust faster into her. Effie had her eyes screwed shut and her nails dug deeper into his skin but otherwise she made no protest over his now erratic thrusting.

In fact, she urged him on, begging him to go faster and he was more than happy to oblige her. He was so close, but he was mindful of Effie's needs.

It didn't take long to bring her over the edge. A few deep strokes was all it took before she was writhing under him, panting and moaning his name over and over again. Haymitch buried his face on the crook of her neck as a toe-curling orgasm shook his body.

He panted, beads of sweat rolling down his chest. He pushed himself off and lay beside her, softly stroking her cheek. She smiled at him, a little bit shy but mostly looking satiated and freshly fucked.

"Laxatives?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

He blinked lazily at her, his hand travelled down from her shoulder and resting on her hips. "Can't complain now – some good came out from it."

Haymitch gathered her in his arms, tucked her head under his chin and drifted off to sleep.

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**A/N: This chapter was quite long but personally, I like reading long chapters. I hope you guys share the same sentiment.**

**Reviews are love, I like reading what you think about my story. So please leave some :)**

**On an unrelated note, you can follow me on tumblr if you like (allonsy-silvertongue) where I sometimes give random updates about the chapter im writing.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything. Marcus, though, Marcus is mine.**

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Chapter 11

The sound of the chirping birds in the early morning was something Effie had gotten used to since she came to District Twelve weeks ago. It was not something usual in the Capitol and Effie welcomed this difference.

She smiled and snuggled into the warm soft body next to hers. The arms around her waist tightened and pulled her even closer. Effie inhaled the scent of earth, sandalwood and liquor – very masculine.

_Liquor_.

Her eyes flew open and she froze. This wasn't Marcus. No, this was Haymitch. She had just woken up next to Haymitch Abernathy, his heavy arm slung around her midsection.

The events of the previous day trickled back into her memories like a slow-moving movie and she smiled, despite it all.

The darkness of the night skies had provided a safety blanket for her the night before. The reality and consequences of her actions were abandoned and shoved at the back of her mind in exchange for Haymitch's kisses. She forgot all about Marcus for a while, forgot how she had settled for him because he was the only one who showed her any interest.

How was she supposed to think rationally when Haymitch was peppering her with his urgent, demanding kisses? He was so different from all the men that she had been with – not that there were many. He was unrestrained and gentle, demanding and giving, a paradox in itself. Recalling the way he moaned her name without the sneering and malice was enough to melt her bones. Effie had wanted to give him all that she had when she heard the way he said her pet name, _'little dove'_, in a soft tender whisper.

That happened yesterday, but now, in the bright glare of the late morning sun, Effie would have to face the consequences of their actions. She had betrayed Marcus and she was starting to feel sick. She hated herself for the betrayal. Marcus had always been nice to her and treated her with respect and she had –

"Morning," a gruff voice mumbled in her ear. Effie shivered and looked up at him.

"Morning," she replied but quickly averted her gaze, the lump in her throat growing by the minute.

Effie bit her lip and slowly untangled her limbs from Haymitch, pulling the comforter up to her chin and leaning against the headboard. She could feel his eyes on her, watching her every move before he sighed, wiping his face with a large palm.

He threw the covers back, sat on the edge of the bed while putting on the pants he had grabbed from the floor.

"You're leaving?" she asked him softly.

"Look, little dove, I can see the regret in your face, plain as day. Clearly you don't want me here."

She hung her head at the truth of his statement. She wanted to tell him that she didn't regret yesterday but she was ashamed for betraying Marcus. Her head was spinning. Yesterday happened because they had agreed that acting on the sexual tension that was so tangible between them could possibly purge their feelings out and solves the problem, but she didn't think that it had worked at all. If anything else, she wanted him to come back to bed and to just hold her.

"Let's just forget this happened," he said, shrugging his arm into his rumpled shirt. "Effie? Let's forget it, okay? We'll never talk about this again. Go back, go home to him."

Haymitch refused to look at her as he said it but he was offering her an olive branch and at that moment, she was willing to take it. She didn't want to have to deal with her conflicting emotions.

Nodding slowly, she agreed to it.

"Haymitch? This won't … It won't affect the way we carry out our job?"

He gave her a rueful smile and left the room.

XxX

Her luggage had been packed and placed beside the front door. She was rocking on the balls of her feet waiting for Haymitch to get ready to send her off to the train station.

True to his words, once he left her room that morning and when she saw him again a few hours later when he finally came in from tending his geese, he had treated her as though they had not just spent the night together.

She had blushed when he called her little dove but had hid it from him. He had made fun of her as she ran though the checklist in her hand to make sure she had not forgotten anything and sneered at her when she returned his mockery with a glare.

Effie supposed that years of knowing him and forming a friendship had made it easier for them to fall back to that routine - exchanging barbed words and ruthless banter. It was a safe, familiar relationship.

"Oh, there you are. Where's your make-up, Haymitch?" gesturing towards his face.

"What?" he asked, frowning at her.

"You took forever! One would think you were a woman going on a first date."

"You would know all about that, wouldn't you?"

She passed him one of her bags and he stared at it before looking back up.

"I'm sorry, Trinket, am I meant to carry these for you?" he arched an eyebrow and Effie stared at him.

_Sexy. How could a simple arch of an eyebrow be so –_

"Trinket! Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes, yes, I am," she replied hastily. "A gentleman would offer to carry a lady's –"

"Well, I recall you accusing me of not being a gentleman on enough occasions. So, I'm not obligated."

He held the door open and with a mock bow, he said, "After you, little dove."

XxX

"Effie!"

She turned towards the sound of the voice and smiled widely at the sight of Marcus weaving through the crowd to get to her. He held out a bouquet of flowers for her which she accepted gracefully and gave her a warm hug.

"I've missed you," he whispered.

She hesitated for a second. She hadn't missed him. Not really. Her job at District Twelve kept her busy and when she was not working she was preoccupied with getting back at Haymitch or watching out for anything that he might have done to her.

"I- I miss you, too."

He signalled for a porter to carry her bags to the car he had waiting outside the station and with her hands held lovingly in his throughout the car ride, they made their way back to her apartment.

She kept her gaze out of the window, refusing to acknowledge the painful beating of her heart and the guilt which had begun to surface. _I slept with Haymitch behind his back. _Effie watched the scenery passed her by, resolutely ignoring Marcus who seemed content to just be able to hold her hand.

It was nice being home again. She had definitely missed the Capitol.

As she stepped out of the car, she made a resolution and promised to forget the incident just like Haymitch had said. It had happened once and it would most likely not happen again. She has Marcus, a man who clearly cared about her and that was enough.

XxX

The sharp shrill ring of her telephone pierced through her apartment, she blindly reached out to her bed side table to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Trinket?"

"Haymitch? What are you – oh dear, what time is it?"

"Don't know, can't tell. Were you sleeping?" he slurred out the question.

"I was. Now, I'm having a nightmare at the sound of your voice."

"Was that an effort at some kind of joke?"

"What do you want, Haymitch?" she asked tiredly.

"You got home okay?" he had asked.

Before she could answer, Marcus had already plucked the phone out of her hand and pressed it to his ear. She tried to get it back but he held up a hand to stop her.

"Mr. Abernathy, it's three in the morning," Marcus informed him.

"Thanks for the information," came his reply which Effie heard as she placed her ears near the phone in Marcus's hand.

"Can't you call in the morning, Mr Abernathy? Or is there something urgent?"

The line went dead as Haymitch hung up.

"Well, he doesn't seem very polite," Marcus said, handing her back the phone.

"He's exactly like I've told you all the while."

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**A/N: Sorry, this isn't as lengthy as the previous ones but I have to get this out & send Effie back to the Capitol for more good (i hope) things to come. **

**Hope that was an enjoyable read, do leave a review :)**


	12. Chapter 12

It's 2 am now! Would have posted this yesterday but been busy (it's my birthday weekend, ehehe) & I've decided to get this out today because I might not have the time tomorrow. Have a good read, and enjoy it cause I had a blast writing this chapter!

**Disclaimer: As usual.**

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Chapter 12

His decision for them to forget that the events of that night had ever happened wasn't an easy one. Haymitch wasn't naïve enough to think that just because they had slept together, Effie was going to abandon her life in the Capitol and start one with him. That would be asking for far too much and he wasn't entirely sure if having Effie around all the time was good. He had guarded his heart long enough to ever believe that things would have worked out as easily as that.

Still, he felt as though somebody had attempted to stab his heart with a blunt object when Effie had easily agreed to put it all behind.

He hadn't planned for things to spiral out of control when he spiked her food with laxatives. He had just wanted her to stay a little while longer but he knew now that he had no self-control when it came to her.

He crossed the room towards the calendar hanging on the wall and marked the date that he had to go back to the Capitol for the monthly committee meeting. Sighing, he grabbed a bottle of liquor and settled down on the settee on his front porch listening to the barn owl hooting in the distance as the night grew older.

Haymitch was already drunk by the time he picked up the phone he had carelessly thrown on the sofa and staggered back out to the porch.

He dialled the only number he knew by heart –Effie's.

She picked up after three rings and he listened to her groggy voice on the other line. He hung up and waited for five minutes. He called her again. She took a slightly longer time to answer.

"Hello?" she asked.

He covered his mouth to stifle the laughter threatening to burst out. Haymitch wasn't sure why he found such joy in irritating her. He hung up again and redialled almost immediately.

"Who is it?!" she sounded irritated now - he could almost picture her. A frown on her face with the corner of her lips turning down when she was upset and trying to control her anger, and the way she clenched her jaws. Sometimes she would smile even though he was aggravating her but he doubted she was smiling now.

He hung up and this time, he waited for a good ten minutes before calling her again. The phone rang endlessly. Haymitch brought the mouth of the bottle to his lips and took a large gulp. Effie would either ignore the call or maybe that idiot guy, Marcus would pick it up - Butting in when he wasn't wanted, just like the other day when he had called to check on her.

He was wrong on both accounts. Effie picked up and remained silent. He wasn't expecting that so he was a little flustered as to how he should react.

He poured more alcohol down his throat.

"I can hear you swallowing your liquor, you know," Effie said softly.

He chuckled, "Bet you could, little dove."

"Do you enjoy interrupting my sleep?"

"Immensely."

"What's the confession?" she asked after a while.

"Don't understand you."

"You're drinking therefore you must be drunk and you're on the phone with me, so this has got to be you drunk dialling me. Again. When people drink dial someone, a confession usually follows. What's yours?"

"Haven't got nothing," he answered.

"Ah, I'll hang up now then, since there is nothing interesting going on. No soul-deep confessions for me to hear, after all."

"No, wait. If you must know, I think your boyfriend is an idiot."

"You haven't even met him."

"But I spoke to him on the phone the other day while you were, you know… under the laxatives," he replied.

He could hear her sigh in exasperation and when she spoke next, it was in the same tone of voice someone would use on an ignorant child.

"Briefly. You spoke to him briefly. That isn't a basis to form such assumptions," she paused and sucked in a breath, trying to calm herself, he imagined. "Tell you what, Haymitch, when you come over to the Capitol next for the meeting, we'll invite Marcus along for lunch. How about that?"

"No! Why would I want to –"

"Ah, ah, ah, no arguments. Meet him and then you can call him anything you want _after_ you've actually made a decent effort to get to know him. Goodnight, and I'm unplugging my phone so don't bother calling back."

Haymitch had the urged to smack his head against the wall. _Doesn't anything ever go according to plan?_, he grumbled angrily.

He needed to think of a decent enough excuse to miss the meeting and get Peeta to go as his proxy. But that would mean not seeing Effie until the next meeting the following month. Even so, there was no guarantee that she wouldn't drag that Marcus along later on. Effie was a determined creature and if she said she would do something, she would do it. Just like that day when she had insisted he learnt how to drive. Besides, she did say that he could call Marcus _anything._

Haymitch gave a long suffering sigh and decided that the sooner he got over this whole "getting to know Marcus" business, the better it would be. The prize he had to pay for Effie's friendship. He wondered if it would be easier for him to have just walked away and showed her his anger at how regretful she was when they had woken up. He could have confessed his feelings or they could have fought so terribly that they broke off all ties. Either way, he wouldn't be in the state of limbo that he was currently in.

He hated how Effie had the power to make him feel so weak without even realising it and he absolutely despised the way he seemed to crave for her friendship even though it meant putting himself below the pedestal. _What a fool, Abernathy. _He would forever be in that situation unless he confronted her and tell her how he felt but that would mean opening up himself, something he wasn't ready to do. He wasn't sure if he would ever be ready.

_Ah, fuck it. If I have to endure lunch with that pair of idiots, I might as well make it worth my while._

XxX

The meeting was, as usual, painfully boring. Haymitch dug his nails into the palm of his hand to keep himself awake and when President Paylor finally concluded the meeting with positive motivational words about the job well done by each of the Capitol's representatives, Haymitch jumped to his feet.

"There'll be refreshments in the room next door. Just a little something I organised with Miss Trinket for all your efforts thus far," President Paylor said with a smile.

When he entered the room and saw the arrays of light snacks on the table, his eyes searched for the booze. When he found none, his shoulders sagged in disappointment.

"Couldn't have ordered alcohol, could you, Trinket?" he asked as he approached her.

She rolled her eyes at him and as she moved away from him to the dessert table, she said, "Technically, we're still at work. No drinking on the job."

He followed her closely behind, uncapped the silver flask he had pulled out from his jacket and waved it at the corner of her eyes.

"Says who?" he teased and took a sip at the same time Effie turned around holding a bowl of melted chocolate for the fondue. She collided into Haymitch and the chocolate spilt all over his shirt, some of it splattering on her dress. Haymitch had the worst of it, his shirt already soaking in the thick viscous chocolate.

He stared at his chest, back up at Effie and down to the front of his shirt again in disbelief. The entire room had fallen silent watching them both when Effie gave a tiny squeak of surprise. Haymitch was too occupied trying to his prevent shirt from sticking to his skin that he missed the glint in Effie's eyes and the way the corner of her mouth twisted briefly in a smirk.

"We have to change," she said.

"You don't say, little dove? I assume you just walk around with a mini, mobile wardrobe, don't you?"

"Don't be silly. I'm trying to help you. We can't meet Marcus for lunch with you looking like that, and I have to change too. Look at my dress."

Her dress bore spots of splattered chocolate which to Haymitch still looked acceptable compared to his ruined shirt.

"So cancel it," he snapped at her.

Haymitch was adamant that they cancel or postpone the lunch appointment they had with her boyfriend but her persistent nagging that all they needed was a change of clothes made him give up. He feared that she knew how much he found her shrill voice irritating and made full use of it to bully him into agreeing - the power she held over him.

He found himself in her sitting room in her apartment, half-naked, having already discarded his soiled clothes in her laundry basket. She came out of her room soon enough holding up a plain light blue button down shirt that she claimed once belonged to her father and handed it to him, all the while trying to avoid staring at his bare chest.

"It should fit you, put it on," she ordered him.

"Why? Don't you like what you're seeing?" he replied, smiling at her discomfort and patted his chest.

"Put it on, Haymitch."

She held out the shirt to him gingerly between her fingers, the same way one might hold a dirty napkin. Haymitch was busy laughing at her to question the odd way she was holding out the shirt.

Snatching it from her grasp, he put the shirt on as she once again disappeared into her room to change her clothes.

XxX

"Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Abernathy," the man said, offering his hand for a shake.

Haymitch was scratching his neck and trying to be discreet about it at the same time as he and Effie walked into the restaurant. He paused to shake Marcus' hand but the itch on his neck was getting worse. He tried to focus his attention back to the man before him who was holding on to Effie's hand. He tried to ignore their intertwined fingers and instead observed Marcus, the man he had briefly spoken to on the phone but had never met.

Haymitch could understand why Effie would choose him. He was well-groomed, with his dark black hair gelled and swept to the side, clean shaven with golden eye lashes and tinted eyebrows. He was dressed in a body-fitting sky blue suit, a pale pink skinny tie tucked into his matching vest and a glint of a silver jewellery at the cuffs caught Haymitch's attention. His cufflinks were silver 'E' letterings. _Well that's sickening._

He had to begrudgingly accept that aside from the golden eyelashes, tinted eyebrows and slightly metallic bronze skin which Marcus must have dyed before the fall of the Capitol, he looked almost normal and rather good looking.

He could see Effie from the corner of his eyes, watching them both carefully and Haymitch decided that now was the time to play nice, just to throw Effie off. He would bet a good bottle of wine that Effie was expecting him to be his usual rude self. No, today he would not give Effie that satisfaction. There would be time for mischief later.

"Pleasure. Please, call me Haymitch," he said, gesturing towards their table. Effie's questioning look thrown in his direction made him feel that playing nice was worthwhile if it could make Effie Trinket decidedly confused.

"What are you doing?" she hissed out of the corner of her mouth as they made their way towards their reserved table.

"Greeting your boyfriend," he answered simply, bringing his hand up to scratch his shoulder.

"You're being too nice. Should I be worried?"

"Did you pick his cufflinks for him, Trinket? Seems like self-inflated ego on your part if you did."

Effie seemed startled by his sudden question and tried to discreetly check Marcus' cuffs. When she saw it, a frown graced her face and Haymitch chuckled quietly.

"How was the meeting today?" Marcus's attempt at small talk cut through the awkward silence that had fallen between the trio.

Haymitch swirled his glass of wine as he leaned back in his seat and watch the people in the restaurant. It wasn't like Marcus would be genuinely interested in Haymitch's opinion of the meeting anyway.

He flexed his shoulders in an irritated gesture when he felt it itching. His chest was burning and he desperately needed to give it a good scratch. His frustration was mounting. _What is wrong with me?_

"Trinket!" his loud voice caused the pair of lovers to jump in their seat and look at him. "Is this shirt made of silk? I think I might be allergic to -" he pulled the collar of his shirt to the side and scratched his collar bone with two fingers.

"Are you alright, Haymitch?" Marcus asked him, his voice laced with concern. He briefly nodded towards the waiter who had served them with their food.

"Fine, I'm fine."

_It's impossible to hate this idiot if he continues being nice and it's also impossible to play nice when I'm so uncomfortable. Fuck, why is my body itching? I don't even remember being allergic to any -_

His internal monologue was interrupted by a question from Marcus, which Effie answered.

"He doesn't do anything. He just spends his time drinking and, oh, he has geese in his backyard, did you know?"

He assumed Marcus had asked if he had a job. _Fine, if Trinket wants to talk, let her do the talking._

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, trying to rub his back against the chair to relief the itch. Haymitch closed his eyes and gave a small sigh, his movement against the chair becoming more vigorous.

He stopped abruptly when he opened his eyes and saw that Effie was looking at him with amusement.

"How many of these geese do you have? Is it hygienic to keep them as pets close to your house?"

His hand that was scratching his right chest stilled as Haymitch realised that the question was meant for him.

"Less than 10, I think. They just multiply, had two in the beginning. And, I don't know about the hygiene bit and I don't really care," he answered truthfully and rubbed the nape of his neck.

He watched as Marcus threw Effie an alarmed look which she returned with a smile.

"But Effie stayed in your house when she was in Twelve!" Marcus exclaimed.

"And she's still alive, unfortunately," he joked. He grimaced involuntarily when the itch on his shoulder got increasingly worse the more he scratched it.

Effie's stiletto heels stomped on his foot under the table and he jumped back in surprise the same time that Marcus said, "Mr. Aber – Haymitch, I would appreciate it if you don't speak about Effie in that manner."

"Fine, fine," he answered. In normal circumstances, he would have come up with a scathing remark but his upper body felt like there were millions of ants crawling on it.

All he wanted right now was to scrub it raw. He had given up on trying to be discreet and was now scratching his chest, his back, his neck and shoulders with vigour. Marcus had a stupefied expression on his face but Haymitch was in such misery that laughing at him wasn't a top priority. Haymitch's scratching overrode all impulses to make fun of Marcus. He scratched and rubbed his inflamed skin. He let out a low, distressed moan at his inability to control his own discomfort.

In a fit of desperation, Haymitch grabbed an unused spoon from the table and began to rub the edge against the back of his neck, the cold metallic sensation quickly providing him a small measure of relief as he closed his eyes, sank back into his chair and continued rubbing.

Effie was fearfully looking around the restaurant to see if any of the patrons were looking at their table. They were and Effie was quick to do some damage control. Seeing as how their meal was nearly over, Effie had asked Marcus to call for the bill.

"Best if you get him to a doctor, darling. He might be having an allergic reaction. Perhaps he is allergic to some kind of food. Peanuts, maybe?"

"I'm so sorry to have to cut this short, Marc. Will you be going back to your office?" she asked.

Haymitch had bolted and was waiting for her at the sidewalk outside the restaurant just as Effie stood on tiptoe to give Marcus a kiss on his lips.

XxX

"I need to use your bathroom. I need a shower, desperately," he told her as she started the engine of her red Daihatsu Copen, which had obviously been repaired.

"Never thought I'll live to hear you say that."

"Shut up, Trinket and drive faster."

He had unbuttoned the first few buttons of the shirt and was scratching his skin, leaving behind marks from his nails.

"Stop scratching, it'll scar," Effie reprimanded him, swatting his hand away. Her eyes lingered on his slightly toned chest peeking out from underneath his shirt.

Effie swore and promised under threat of death from Haymitch that the shirt was cotton and not silk. Haymitch wasn't sure if he was indeed allergic to silk but he wanted to rule out the possibilities. He wasn't allergic to any type of food which led him back to the puzzling, infuriating question as to why he was itching so much.

He practically tore the shirt off and ran straight for her bathroom the moment she unlocked the door. The water was soothing against his skin and he refused to use any of the bottles of shower gel and knick knacks lining up in her bathroom for fear of making the itch worse. And really, did he want to smell like Effie Trinket?

"Are you alright in there?" she asked, knocking on the bathroom door.

"Feels amazing. Wanna join, little dove?" he answered. He had promised not to bring up the fact that they had slept together but that didn't mean he couldn't tease her, could he?

He heard her footsteps moving away and he let the water from the shower head spray his body. He inspected his chest which was red from his furious scratching and he imagined it must look the same on his back.

When he felt the burning had subsided, he stepped out of the shower and opened her cabinet to grab a towel. Haymitch had only been to her apartment on a few occasions and decided to snoop around Effie's bathroom out of sheer curiousity. Who knew – he might find something he could use to black mail her in the future.

There were the usual skin lotions, moisturizing creams and tablets for menstrual cramps as stated on the label and which Haymitch hastily placed back on the shelf. He rummaged further and came upon a half-used package rolled up and bound with an elastic band. It looked so odd and out of place that Haymitch took off the band and rolled the package open.

He clenched his jaw in anger, his eyes blazing with fury. In bold red lettering, the words on the packaging explained his entire uncomfortable episode at the restaurant.

_Itching Powder._

She must have sprinkled it on the shirt she had let him borrow. It was no wonder that she was adamant that he changed his clothes after the chocolate incident. His eyes narrowed a fraction as he crushed the package in his hand. This would also mean that she must have spilt that bowl of chocolate on purpose.

_Effie Trinket is a cruel and revengeful person_, he decided. _A very, very smart and decidedly cunning human being._

Itching Powder.

_Dammit. I should have thought of it first. If she was still wearing one of those stupid wigs, I could have put it on her wig!_

Okay, admittedly that was cruel but what she had done to him was heartless, too.

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**I do admit, I enjoy reading your thought and reviews each time. Tell me your thoughts then! :)**

**A/N: I'm not sure when the next chapter will be out because my exams are starting next month, so i'll be quite busy with revision. I'll try to write in between revision breaks, though! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Effie & Haymitch don't belong to me, which is unfortunate (imo).**

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Chapter 13

The mirror in the bathroom had begun to mist as Haymitch stood rooted to the spot, the packet of itching powder clutched tightly in his hands.

_I will kill her. I will destroy everything she loves._

Those thoughts raged in his mind as he scowled in irritation, the anger slowly simmering in him. He had made a fool of himself in front of Marcus and although he wasn't one to usually care about others' opinion of him, he found that he wanted Marcus to have a good impression of him because of Effie. He wasn't sure why exactly but he hadn't wanted that man to think that Effie spent her working hours with a useless fool.

His irritation with Effie spurned him into action. Opening the bathroom door slowly, he poked his head out and listened for any movements. He could hear her humming in the direction of the kitchen so he crept out of the bathroom noiselessly. Haymitch had left the water running so that Effie would thought that he was still showering.

He dressed quickly, but not before thoroughly inspecting the new shirt that Effie had laid out at his request. Haymitch rolled up the packet of itching powder, secured the elastic band and pocketed it.

Glancing around her sitting room, his eyes fell on her open hand bag and the cream coloured, moleskin planner sticking out from the bag. A maniacal grin began to spread across his face.

Swiftly, he crossed the room, plucked the planner out of the bag and flipped through the pages of the book. _That's it - Effie's precious schedule, in my hands._ She had apparently stopped walking around with a clipboard and started keeping her schedule in a small planner which she could carry around wherever she went.

_There's only two things that are precious to her – her schedule and those irritating high heels._

The times he spent with her at the Penthouse during the Games had taught him that Effie's shoes would most likely be in the closet in her room. And since Effie was a creature of habit, he didn't think that it would be any different in her apartment. True enough, when he strode into her room, and pulled open the closet door, her shoe collections were there.

Needless to say, he was taken aback by the sheer number of heels lined neatly and arranged according to colours. She could start a business selling those heels if she kept up the habit of continuously buying a new pair of heels on a regular basis.

He took a black stiletto high heel nearest to him in his hands and turned it around. His mind had wandered off and conjured up a mental image of her in those pair of heels, her legs wrapped around his waist, the heels digging into his back. In his mind's eye, he would be pinning her against the green wall of her bedroom, her hands gripping his hair as she pulled him closer to her body, moaning and begging for him to –

His shoulder twitched, the itch still persistently bothering him even if it wasn't as bad as before the shower. He slid the knife he still carried around from his pocket and hesitated for a split second before he brought it down on the heels.

Haymitch bit his tongue in concentration as he moved his knife back and forth, cutting the heels a few inches shorter. When he was done with it, he placed it back exactly where he took it from and moved on the next pair.

For a while, the house was silent except for the sound of his knife against the plastic material of the heels. When he realised the absence of Effie's humming, which admittedly was better than her singing – Effie could not sing if it meant saving her life - Haymitch paused and slowly placed the shoe back on the rack. He stepped back, gave the closet a quick glance, satisfied that he had actually managed to destroy an entire rack of her high-heels and was already half way on the second rack. Haymitch knew from years of listening to her rambling about her shoe collections that she kept her favourites on the first rack. The third rack was mainly made up of flat pumps and sandals, much smaller in numbers compared to her high heels. All in all, Haymitch counted six pairs of destroyed high-heels, most of them happened to be her favourite pairs and sniggered to himself.

_Let's see her trying to walk in those shoes,_ he laughed silently to himself. It would be a difficult feat to even walk in them, since Haymitch had not bothered to cut them in equal heights. The right pair could be a few inches shorter than the left for all he cared.

He allowed himself to take in the sight of her room with its rich green walls and queen sized bed in the middle of the room. He spied a framed photo of her and Marcus at the side of her bed and made a guttural noise of displeasure. Her bedroom was nice and comfortable - the bed looked inviting with its thick white quilt. A white fur carpet lay on the floor at the foot of her bed and there was also a small arm chair near the window. On one of the walls, was a photo of Effie, Katniss, Peeta and himself taken at the Capitol during one of the post-war celebrations. He gave a small smile at the sight of it.

Struck by a sudden flash of a self-declared brilliant idea, he moved towards the bed and took out the itching powder from his pocket. He briefly wondered if Marcus slept with her in that very same bed and he gritted his teeth in annoyance. That, however, was enough a motivation for him to sprinkle the remaining itching powder all over Effie's bed. The white powder camouflaged brilliantly against the white quilt and pillow casings.

Feeling that he had wasted enough time dilly-dallying in her room, Haymitch slunk outside. He went back to the bathroom to shut the water off and stepped out only to collide into Effie who was walking towards the sitting room.

"Oh, you're okay then. I thought you drowned in my bathroom."

Haymitch rolled his eyes and walked past her into her sitting room. She followed him.

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" she asked.

"No. I'd like some whiskey."

"I only have coffee," she answered him, her voice fading as she disappeared back into the kitchen. Haymitch was sure that she had whiskey and was just trying to irritate him by making him coffee instead.

She came out holding two steaming cups in her hands and stopped short at the sight before her. On the coffee table was the packet of the itching powder. The package was now empty but Effie had no knowledge of it. She shot him a terrified look before slowly placing his mug of hot coffee in front of him and settling down on the sofa.

She fidgeted. Haymitch let her stew in uneasiness as he deliberately and slowly brought the mug to his lips and took a few cautious sips of the hot beverage.

"Would you care to explain, little dove?" he asked, giving her a side-long glance.

"I- Uh…," she stuttered, quite unlike her usual confident self. Her eyes were wide in an almost unconscious admittance of guilt. Her demeanour changed quickly however and once again, she exuded a calm and composed exterior.

Effie asked almost casually with a slight hint of anger in her voice, "Have you any idea how uncomfortable I was when you spiked my food with laxatives?"

He scoffed. "Have you any idea how uncomfortable I was when my whole upper body was itching? In public, nonetheless," he mimicked her, complete with exaggerated hand gestures.

"Since when did you care about your appearances in public?" she retorted.

"Oh," he arched a mocking eyebrow. "Does this mean you don't mind me embarrassing myself in public?"

"I don't care what you want to do in public as long as you do it into your own time and I'm not involved."

"Oh, but, sweetheart, were you embarrassed when I used the spoon? I was desperate, you see, _and it was all your fault,"_ he hissed the words out, his face leaning inches away from hers.

Effie gulped and tried to control her breathing.

"You'll pay for it, Eff, you can be sure of it."

His proximity and the warm breath on her cheek was making her uncomfortable. She was mortified at how excited she felt hearing him sounding so feral and intimidating, and she wished the ground would swallow her when she felt the heat pooling between her legs.

Haymitch watched with a shrewd fascination as her eyes widened and then narrowed at him a fraction as she tried to once again gain the upper hand.

"Don't threaten me in my own house, Haymitch," she said in a single breath.

He laughed and leaned back, granting Effie her personal space once again. "I'm not threatening you. I'm telling you. Maybe I've already done it, maybe I haven't – that's for you to find out, isn't it? Anyway, I heard you had an _appointment_ with a dentist on…" he tapped his chin thoughtfully for exaggerated emphasis, "Monday was it? 3 pm?"

Her eyes widened in horror before her head swivelled to the direction of her hand bag. She shot out of the sofa and began rummaging through it by which time Haymitch was already at the door.

"See you, Eff. Good luck with the root canal."

He heard her shouting after him as he walked down the corridor towards the waiting elevator.

"Give it back, Haymitch. Give me back my planner. Haymitch? Haymitch!"

Both his eyebrows shot up and he gave her an amused look when she ran out of her apartment, chasing after him. Just to spite her further, he gave a mocking feminine wave as the elevator door shut in her face bringing him down to the lobby.

_Her shoes are destroyed and she has no planner, no schedule for the next month. Ahh, let the chaos begin._

* * *

There you go, sangoaria. You wanted Haymitch to cut off Effie's heels (you're mean btw) & I've wrote it.

A/N: I like this chapter and I could also feel Effie's wrath when she found out about her heels. We'll see that in the next chapter, in the meantime, I would love some reviews :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: If I'm Suzanne Collins, I wouldn't have to work so hard to earn cash.**

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Chapter 14

Running towards the nearest window, Effie braced herself and peered outside to watch the figure of the maddening Haymitch Abernathy crossing the street to get a taxi. He looked up briefly and waved her precious planner up at her, a smirk on his face.

"Bastard," she muttered angrily. Effie hardly ever swore but the rage she felt warranted the use of such words.

She collapsed on the sofa, her head in her hand as she mumbled to herself trying to recall to the best of her abilities her schedule for the next month. Effie could not for the life of her remember what was on her planner, having been so used to having the thing around for her to check at any given time.

Effie scrambled around for a note pad and in her neat elegant penmanship jotted down what Haymitch had told her before he took off. _Dental appointment – Monday, 3 pm._

She stared at the notepad unblinkingly for a moment, trying to tame the anxiety building in her. It looked so dull and bleak, so unlike the colour-coded organised planner that she had. She could only hope that Haymitch did not destroy her planner by giving it to his geese or throwing it into his fireplace.

It infuriated her - the fact that after all these years, Haymitch could still surprise her and remain unpredictable.

The papers of her notepad rustled softly at the gentle breeze blowing from her open window. Effie tapped her fingers on her thigh, deep in thought, still trying to recall the contents of her planner. Slowly, the notepad began to fill up as she remembered bits of important appointments and tasks she had penned down to accomplish.

Leaning back against her sofa, Effie resigned herself to the fate that that was all she could remember for the moment and switched on her television, watching but not entirely focused on the soap opera currently playing on screen.

XxX

Later that night, Effie drew the white covers of her bed and slipped inside, cuddling beside Marcus who was leaning against the headboard, reading a book. As their relationship progressed, they had occasionally spent the night at each other's house and when Marcus had heard how distressed she was on the phone earlier about her planner, he had promised to come over.

Drawing her closer to him, Marcus dropped a kiss on top of her head and tried to make her feel better, "Don't worry, darling, I'm sure you've simply misplaced it. It could be at your office. Just check it tomorrow, alright?"

"Hmm."

Marcus had no knowledge of the ridiculous things Effie and Haymitch did to each other and she planned to keep it that way. He had been suspicious of the nature of her relationship with Haymitch initially; unable to accept that nothing had ever happened between them despite the long years she spent working beside the man. Well, she had told him the truth – nothing had happened, not until the night at Haymitch's house with the laxatives.

Effie frowned when she felt the skin on her hip itching, spreading up her spine and her shoulder blade. She wanted to turn around and scratch herself but Marcus had somehow abandoned his book and was now on top of her, kissing her neck.

"Marc- Marcus, no… Stop," she said, pushing him off lightly on the chest. He frowned and scratched his neck.

He moved off her and sat back on his side of the bed, furiously rubbing his upper arm. Effie on her part was strongly trying to resist the urge to scratch her back. Almost naturally and unconsciously, her hand felt the mattress under her for the source of her discomfort. Marcus was already sitting on the edge of the bed, scratching his legs. It was unsightly but Effie held her tongue.

"What did you say happened to Abernathy again? Allergic reaction to food, was it?"

Effie nodded in affirmative. Again, Marcus was unaware of the itching powder she had put on Haymitch's shirt and it would not have been a good idea to tell him that instead of bringing Haymitch to the doctor as Marcus had suggested, she had brought him to her apartment. He would be upset.

"I think it's possible that it was something we ate at the restaurant. I'm having itches all over and, baby, I think I should go. I really should see the doctor."

Effie sat on her bed - the itch on her body temporarily forgotten – watching Marcus get dressed with a stupefied expression on her face.

"You're leaving? I'm sure it's nothing, Marc."

"One can't be too sure – ought to just get it checked and examined. Get some medication, you know? I'll see you later," he gushed out, dropping a chaste kiss on her lips.

When she heard the front door close, Effie growled and gave an undignified scream. She knew exactly what just happened having felt the powdery substance on her mattress earlier and knew without a shadow of doubt that it was Haymitch.

Muttering angrily, she stripped her bed bare of the mattress and dumped it all on her laundry basket. She was exhausted and tired, and now she had to spend her time changing her sheets and all the pillow casings.

She froze halfway as she fixed the fitted sheet. _Haymitch was in my room._ The immediate alarmed reaction she felt was paralysing. Slowly, she turned around examining the state of her bedroom trying to see if anything was out of place or had fallen victim to Haymitch's idiotic acts.

Everything was as it should be and she exhaled the breath she didn't know she had been holding. Effie went back to fixing her bed before her hand stilled in mid-air. _Unless of course, he did something that wouldn't be obvious at first glance. _This was Haymitch and if there was one thing Effie knew about him, she knew that he wouldn't pass up the chance to do more to infuriate her - especially not in the current state they were in, driving each other insane.

Effie went to her wardrobe and critically eyed everything. Her clothes were all as it should be. Moving on to the closet, she pulled it open and gave it a general sweep, automatically righting a heel that seemed to have tilted slightly to the left.

And that was when she gave a shriek of horror at the sight before her. She clutched the fabric of her nightgown near her chest and held on to the closet door for support. _My heels. My favourite heels._

She moved forward slowly and in a daze picked up the first few heels to inspect them. A strangled choking noise escaped her when she saw the rough workmanship and the knife marks on her heels. As though he had wanted to rub it in her face, Haymitch had left parts of the heels that he had cut off in the closet. _Am I supposed to take it to a cobbler to get them reattached? Haymitch, you're a stupid, belligerent idiot. I wish I could just… just drown you with all those liquors._

The shock gave way to anger. Effie felt a blinding white hot rage and the need to destroy something or inflict some serious physical harm on someone. By someone, she was thinking of Haymitch.

She swept all the heels off the rack in anger, screaming in frustration and unchecked anger. That was the last straw – she had had enough.

XxX

"I hate you, Haymitch! You have no soul!"

He chuckled loudly and it drove her to the edge.

You're a useless, good for nothing, unscrupulous, depraved, horrible excuse of a man! You're a complete waste of flesh and space, and… and I wish you'd just… I don't ever want to see you again, do you understand?"

"You've wound me, Trinket and for fuck's sake, little dove, can't you scream at me later on? I just got back – "

"Oh? Is that what you want? Fine, I'll scream at you at your convenience, let me just put it in my schedule. But wait, I don't have it because you stole it, you ill-mannered, foul, boorish man!" she was once again screaming by the end of her sentence.

It was highly undignified and not to mention extremely rude but the last shred of her patience no longer existed. Also, Haymitch Abernathy deserved none of her politeness and manners. She balled her hand into a fist at her side as she paced her bedroom angrily, shouting on the phone.

"This is what you're going to do, Abernathy. You will replace each one of my heels and once that's done, you will relinquish your position as District Twelve's representative and get someone else elected to represent Twelve in – "

"Sweetheart, did somebody die and make you queen?" he laughed into the receiver. "You know I'm not gonna do that. Since when have I ever done what you wanted, Effs?"

She squeezed her eyes shut and flopped down on her bed, clearly exhausted and extremely aggravated. The only other option was for her to quit her job and find employment elsewhere but to do so would only let Haymitch win.

"Haymitch, you're … I can't deal with you anymore. Those heels are precious to me, do you understand? Why are you so horrible to me? You took my planner, the poured powder on my bed and those heels… You've completely destroyed them. They're my favourites." A choking noise escaped her and Effie willed herself not to break down from the stress of the day.

"I feel absolutely wretched, and what have I ever done to -"

"If you're sending me on a guilt trip, little dove, save it. It's not working."

Effie could almost see him smirking over the phone and there was nothing she wanted more than to be given the chance to wipe that constant smug look off his face.

"It is absolutely infuriating talking to you. It's like talking to a wooden plank! You know what? I've had enough and like I said, I've can't deal with you anymore other than strictly necessary. Don't bother calling me anymore, Abernathy and don't expect your monthly shipment of liquor from me. Find someone else to do it."

"Eff, no, wait, come –"

She jabbed the end call button on her phone and threw it on her bed. Rolling over, Effie buried herself under the sheet and feel into a restless sleep, still stewing in anger.

The phone rang twice that night, but Effie ignored it. She wasn't in the mood to listen to any more of Haymitch's drunken excuses or worse, his gloating.

XxX

Effie woke fresh and early the next day with a smile on her face. She stretched and yawned languidly on her bed. When she opened her eyes and the view of the closet came within her line of vision, the smile turned into a frown.

_Myheels are destroyed. No reason to be smiling at all._

The ringing of her phone startled her. Gritting her teeth, she picked it up. _This better not be Haymitch._

"Good morning, may I speak to Ms. Trinket?"

"Speaking," she said cautiously, not recognising the voice on the other line.

"I'm just calling to inquire. I saw the sign, you see, and I was wondering how much are you planning to sell your car? It looks brand new and oh, how many years have you been using it?"

"What? I'm sorry, but – what?"

"Your car? The red Daihatsu Copen? That's yours, isn't it?"

"Yes…"

"Aren't you selling it away?" Effie pulled the receiver away from her ear and looked at it in confusion as though it could clarify and bat away the cloud of confusion in her mind.

"No… I'm afraid you're mistaken."

"Oh, but I did saw the sign on your –"

"Sir, my car is not for sale. Sorry, have a nice day."

She barely hung up before it rang again and this time, a woman called asking the same question.

While it was certainly odd, Effie did not feel the least bit suspicious since she thought that they must have intended to call someone else. After all, her car wasn't the only red Daihatsu Copen on the streets of the Capitol.

It wasn't until the third caller that she grew suspicious because the caller had managed to verify her car plate number correctly.

_What is going on?_ She panicked internally.

Effie spent half the morning fielding off similar phone calls before she gave up, grunting in frustration and pulled the cord out of her phone. She got dressed and quickly took the elevator down to the lobby.

Stepping out on the curb, she made her way to where she had parked her car the day before and stopped short taking in the sight of her car.

"Haymitch!" she let out a frustrated scream, not caring that she was in public and that people were giving her odd alarmed looks.

"Are you alright, dear?" asked an elderly lady who Effie remembered lived two floors below her.

"No, I'm not alright, as you can clearly see," she snapped at the old woman and quickly regretted it.

The woman frowned at her uncharacteristic rudeness and Effie swiftly apologised. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap – I'm just under considerable amount of stress right now. And I know that is not an excuse but, oh dear, I apologise."

The poor old woman nodded her head sympathetically, patted Effie on the arm and left her alone.

Effie approached her car and stood in front of the windshield. She crossed her arm tightly across her chest and her lips pursed into a thin line. Her small thin frame was shaking with rage.

She wondered where Haymitch even obtained the black marker to scribble that message across the windshield. _"Car for sale – good condition. Please call Effie Trinket" _and he had scrawled her phone number beneath her name.

She used the sleeve of her blouse and tried to wipe the message off her windshield except that it didn't work. Haymitch had written it in permanent ink. She slammed her hand against the windshield and half sat on the bonnet in defeat. It looked like she would have to take it back to the workshop. Again.

Turning on her heels, she stormed back to her apartment. With a cup of tea in her hand, she sank into the chair and gazed into the distance. Truth be told, she had no idea how things with Haymitch had even escalated so horribly to the point that they were doing all they could to bring the other down.

Sipping her tea, she vowed to be the better person and stop retaliating. If she didn't retaliate that man would eventually give up. It had been fun while it lasted – setting the paparazzi on him, painting his nails pink and watching him scratching himself raw – but it had to stop. She wouldn't call him nor talk to him unless it was for work. She was seriously considering cutting off her friendship with Haymitch; after all it was exhausting to constantly look over her shoulder to see if he had done something to her.

It would put Marcus at ease, too. He wouldn't have to worry constantly about her, nor hear her complaining about Haymitch and, Marcus would have no reason to be jealous anymore. She sat there weighing the pros and the cons. Haymitch had been one constant in her life and truthfully, she couldn't imagine a life without that drunk but she has had enough. There was only so much that she could take before she snapped.

_Remember what he did to you, Effie. Your planner, the itching powder on the bed, your pretty heels and now, your car._

Effie wanted nothing else to do with that man, at least not until he apologises for his ruthless actions.

* * *

Poor Effie. I just want to give her a nice, big comforting hug.

**A/N: I hope you like that and reviews are as always, appreciated :) On another note, there probably won't be a chapter in the next two weeks until my exams are over. :( But, I've already got the next chapter mapped out with some interesting plot development. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry that this took a while! But to make it up to you, here's a lengthy chapter! There you go, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

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Chapter 15

Haymitch groaned into his pillow and gave a muffled scream of frustration as the phone rang for the third time that morning. He had ignored the first two calls, pulled the blanket up to cover his face and went back to sleep.

He reluctantly sat up, allowing the bed sheets to fall to his waist, all the while cursing Effie Trinket and her lack of consideration for those who needed sleep. Who else would be calling him relentlessly on the phone? His mouth was dry, his tongue felt like lead and his head was pounding. Blinking blearily, Haymitch searched the floor for the cordless phone he had thrown haphazardly the night before.

"It's ten in the morning, Trinket. Unless you're dying, you better have a damn good reason for –"

"Mr. Abernathy," interjected an unimpressed voice of a man.

Haymitch paused, trying to place the oddly familiar voice.

"Who the hell are you?"

He heard a sigh on the other line. "Marcus. Marcus Mitchell - we met, remember?"

_Right,_ Haymitch rubbed his forehead as he staggered out of bed towards the window and pulled the curtains together. The sun was feeding his headache and with Effie's lover on the line, his head felt like it was about to implode.

"Yeah?"

When Effie had called him earlier, screaming and demanding that he relinquish his position as District Twelve's representative and claiming that she couldn't deal with him anymore, Haymitch hadn't taken her seriously. But it seemed that Effie was being quite serious if her lover was the one doing the calling instead of her.

"Are you listening to me, Mr. Abernathy?"

"Wha – Yes, of course, I am."

Haymitch had no idea what he was talking about. He sounded angry, that much Haymitch could tell. When Marcus began "threatening" Haymitch, stating he wouldn't allow such travesties to happen to "his woman", Haymitch had snickered and placed the call on speaker by his bedside table.

_Doubt that idiot could even throw a punch._

"She is absolutely infuriated, Mr. Abernathy. What you've done was terribly rude! That was the second time you've damaged her car. I cannot believe a grown man like yourself would …."

He spit the toothpaste out, gargled his mouth clean as he listened to Marcus ramble on and on over the phone.

"You'll apologise to her, of course. It is only right and you should be thankful we're not asking you to bear the cost of repairs. Effie is being extremely kind and you really should -."

"Slow down there. Why would I even do that? Are you even aware of what she's done–"

"Haymitch!"

"Oh, hello there, little dove. Have you been listening in to our conversation?" he mocked her.

"N- no," she sputtered. He laughed knowing full well that she was probably sitting beside Marcus all the while.

"Listen here, Haymitch. You are absolutely vile. Really, what do you have against my car?"

"Nothing. It's just you I have a problem with. Although, sweetheart, you have to admit that was a stroke of genius. I mean – Oh, is your Marcus listening in to this, as well?"

"He isn't. And he is not aware of my planner or my shoes or the itching powder on the bed. I can assure you if he knew he would -"

"He would come over and beat the hell out of me? Really, Eff? You need him to stand up for you?"

He heard her sharp intake of breath and knew he had struck a nerve.

"I do not need anyone to stand up for me, thank you very much. In case you have forgotten our conversation, I am sick and tired of dealing with you. And I really do not want to waste my breath fighting with you so I allowed Marcus to talk to you in the hopes that we could come to an understanding. But I see that that was useless, as well."

She paused dramatically to get oxygen into her lungs and Haymitch quickly interrupted her speech.

"I'll return you your planner next month, Effs. You have my word. Will you please calm down already?"

"Calm down? How dare you ask me to calm down, you daft buffoon! You didn't have to take it in the first place! My life is falling apart, Haymitch!"

Haymitch gave a sarcastic laugh; Effie and her theatrics. "Falling apart? Don't be dramatic, little dove. Have I ever told you to live a little? I did, didn't I? Why don't you try going out and live your life _outside_ your schedule? Or are you housebound?"

Effie gave a disgruntled groan.

"You – You're abominable! Why don't _you_ live a little, huh?" she pivoted the question. "You think drinking and being drunk day in and day out is a form of living? It's not. It's a pathetic life to lead so why don't you take your own advice, go out and start living? But you can't, can you? You're an alcoholic, too dependent on the liver destroying liquid to even function."

"You. Are. Pathetic," she punctuated her words slowly and deliberately. "I feel sorry for you, Haymitch. You're so terribly lonely with only your whiskey for company that you've resorted to taunting and mocking me just to feel good. Am I right?"

He clenched and unclenched his fist at every word she said. His grip on the phone was so tight that his knuckles were turning white. Each word hurled at him felt like a knife twisting in his gut.

"You can't even answer that simple question?" she scoffed. "Let me tell you something, my dear Haymitch, at the rate you are now, you'll be alone for the rest of your life."

"That's enough," he said through gritted teeth.

But Effie wasn't done yet, her anger spurred her forward. If anything, her voice took on a sickly sweet tone.

"Such a waste, isn't it? Being part of the Rebellion did nothing to change you. You're still a complete waste. Pity."

A muscle in his jaw twitched, his temple throbbed and all he saw was red. There was a long pause on the line. Haymitch was trying hard to control his anger by breathing deeply through his nostrils, and gulping down large amount of vodka early in the morning. Effie must have sensed the lack of response on his end for she abruptly stopped talking.

"Haymitch?" Effie called out his name cautiously. He detected a slight hint of regret but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Fine. You've had your say," he replied curtly before jabbing the phone button roughly to end the call.

XxX

With his hands jammed into the pocket of his grey pants, Haymitch stepped out of the train station onto the crowded street. He hurriedly made his way down the street towards Effie's apartment, expertly weaving in and out amongst the crowds of commuters during peak hour.

It had been nearly two months since he took her schedule and destroyed her belongings. He had missed the previous meeting at the Capitol because he had been too sick to even find his own bedroom. It was his fault, really. He had drunk too much trying to forget all those things Effie had screamed at him and the weather in District Twelve wasn't helping matters. It was terrible with the constant downpour of heavy rain.

A day before he was scheduled to return to the Capitol for the monthly meeting, Katniss had brought the phone to him at his request, pressing it to his ear as he waited for Effie to pick up the phone.

When she finally did answer the phone, she was less than thrilled to hear his raspy voice on the line.

"Are you seriously ill or is this just another way for you to annoy me – to keep my planner from me a little longer?" she asked suspiciously.

_How dare she? _But he admitted deep down that he couldn't really blame her for being distrustful towards him.

If he hadn't been sick, he would have insulted her and retaliated but his throat felt like someone had just sandpapered it and he wasn't up to talking. Instead, he responded with violent sneezes and a coughing fit.

"Ahh, a lot of bed rest, Haymitch. That should do the trick and drink lots of water - water and not alcohol, mind. Do you… Erm, will you be alright? Is there anything-"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

His response had been brusque but in his opinion, it was fair. His anger had not lessened over the days. Effie had no right to say all those things to him and it was made worse because there were certain truths in her impassioned angry ranting. It angered him because her observation was astute and it scared him slightly how well Effie knew him.

She was the only person he had pushed over the edge who had finally snapped and screamed the truth that he refused to acknowledge – he was alone. He had fought to make a difference in Panem but he couldn't even make a difference in his own life.

_Screw her._ _Just because she knows what she wants out of her life doesn't give her the right to call me pathetic._

"Effie!" he pounded on her door angrily. "Open the door, woman!"

At the back of his mind, he realised that Marcus could probably be in her apartment and it gave him a strange sort of thrill. Maybe he could take his anger out on Marcus – punch him in the face for threatening him over the phone in the first place. The corner of his lips twitched as he entertained such sadistic thoughts.

"Trinket!" he bellowed again.

Haymitch heard her soft footsteps approaching the door and a second later, it was violently pulled open. He hardly had the time to brace himself and soon found himself face to face with a livid Effie Trinket, her blonde hair dripping wet as she hastily tied the red bathrobe around her. His eyes followed the trail of water droplets sliding down her throat before if disappeared down her cleavage into the robe.

"What is so urgent that you see fit to break down my front door at half past eight in the morning, Haymitch? Did you plan to rouse up the entire building with that ruckus you're making?" She turned around and walked away from him. "There are inappropriate timings to make a house call and this is one of those times."

He snapped his eyes back up and let himself in.

"Did I interrupt something? Is that why you're so fucking mad?" his voice was heavily laced with malice, the corner of his lips twisted into a smirk.

"Whatever are you implying?" she asked, slamming her mug down roughly on the kitchen counter.

He shrugged as he stood an arm's length away from her, one of his hands resting on the back of a chair, the other planted on his hip.

"Some fun in the shower with a certain some –"

"Marcus is not here."

"So you didn't get any," he drawled out, his smile turning cocky. "That explains why you're being such a bitch."

They were destroying each other and trying to inflict the most damage to see who would back down first. His chest swelled with satisfaction as he watched her eyes widened and her jaw dropping open in shock.

She advanced towards him, her eyes narrowing to a slit. Effie stopped mere inches from his face.

"Your lack of manners is disturbing. I do not appreciate being spoken to in such a manner."

His grip on the back of the chair tightened as he felt a rather strange sort of excitement thrumming within him.

Haymitch tilted his head and regarded her with a smirk on his face.

"You know," he began. "If you had played nice, Effie, I would actually consider returning you your precious planner," the hand on his hip moved to caress her arm and held on to her hand. Slowly, he brought her hand down his jacket pocket allowing her to feel the bound book resting within.

He felt her hand jerking forward as she tried to slide it towards the pocket opening, attempting to get her planner. He tightened his grip on her wrist and she hissed.

"Give it back," she was nearly eye to eye with him now as she pressed herself closer trying to reach her planner. Her breath was warm against his face and Haymitch clenched his jaw in annoyance. The scent of her shampoo was making his senses go on overdrive.

He couldn't help the way his eyes flickered to her soft pink lips and silently cursed himself when he realised that Effie had noticed that movement. She smirked.

"You know what it's like to want something, don't you, Haymitch?" her voice had dropped to a whisper and he gulped audibly.

_No, it wasn't supposed to be like this. I'm supposed to be in control._

"Right now, I really, really, want –"

His mouth sought her lips as Haymitch kissed her, backing her against the kitchen counter with a growl. He released his hold on her wrist to caress her cheeks, holding her in place as his tongue delved into her mouth. Her hands were pushing against his chest, trying to desperately place some distance between them.

Haymitch stopped kissing her. His lust clouded eyes bore into hers.

" – my planner. That's what I wanted to tell you. I really want my planner," she told him breathlessly, her chest rising and falling with each breath she took.

"Later," he mumbled as he greedily devoured the sweet taste of her mouth. His grip on the back of her neck was gentle as he deepened the kiss. Her hands travelled up his arms to his shoulder and wound around his neck. He groaned when he felt her nails slowly raking against his scalp.

He licked the skin of her jaw line and smiled to himself when Effie moaned in delight. His hand skimmed length of her spine before stopping to rest gently on her waist. The other hand was skilfully untying the drawstrings of her robe.

Haymitch's eyes sparkled with appreciation at the sight before him. She was absentmindedly stroking the back of his neck, sighing and squirming as Haymitch dipped his head to kiss the column of her throat. He pulled her closer so that she was pressed flushed against him

"Haymitch," she whimpered when she felt him grounding his erection against her stomach.

Slipping his hands inside her undergarments, Haymitch grabbed her ass and lifted her up on the kitchen counter. Her hand fluttered to his cheek, stroking it softly with a smile on her face.

Haymitch kissed her palm as her finger traced his eyebrow down the bridge of his nose. Something glittered at the corner of his eyes, momentarily distracting him.

Curious, he reached out to curl his hand around her wrist. Haymitch turned his head to look at her hand the same time that her hand ceased its movement. Effie stared at her own hand with eyes wide open.

A sapphire diamond ring sparkled brightly reflecting the light streaming through her window. Haymitch dropped her hand and stepped back hastily. He vaguely heard her sharp intake of breath and the distressed cry coming out of her bruised lips. He stared hard at her and saw the escalating panic in her eyes as it darted between the ring sitting prettily on her finger and his increasingly thunderous expression.

She slid down the kitchen counter and stepped forward as he stepped back. Haymitch didn't know where to look. He kept glancing down her hand at the offending stone before dragging his gaze up to meet her horrified, guilty expression written plain as day on her face_._

"He proposed?" he managed to croak out, breaking the oppressive silence, the mood in the kitchen taking a turn for the worse.

She nodded slowly, biting her lower lip, clearly at a loss for words.

Almost in a daze, Haymitch fumbled for the cream coloured planner in his pocket and handed it out to her.

"Go on – take it, Trinket," he swallowed, pressing the planner into her hand. "You'd need it to plan your wedding," he sneered suddenly feeling the anger seeping back through his skin.

"Haymitch…" she started. "Haymitch, I –"

"Save it. I'll see you at the meeting tomorrow."

He walked out of the apartment and let the door slammed shut behind him. His footsteps thundered down the stairs as he hurriedly made his way out of her building.

XxX

He had not been paying attention to where he was going when he stormed out of Effie's apartment but soon found himself at the hotel catered to the District representatives for the purposes of official business.

"Mr. Abernathy! You're here early this time. The meeting isn't until tomorrow, isn't it?" greeted a tall, slender red hair receptionist.

"Yeah, well…," he trailed off without an explanation. He had arrived a day early to return Effie her planner thinking that perhaps, she would appreciate that gesture even though he was still furious from her insults.

He propped his elbows on the counter and waited expectantly for the woman to give him his keys.

"Urgent business?" she asked, looking up briefly at him as she entered information into the computer in front of her.

"Nah, maybe I just enjoy the view," he looked at her as he said it.

She blushed; the colour on her cheeks matched perfectly with the hue of her hair. Anna had always been susceptible to his charm and he had used it to his fullest advantage. He'd asked for extra pillows or towels, or expensive liquor which wasn't paid for by the Government. If he asked nicely, Anna would always provide him the liquor for free.

Brushing his fingers against hers when she slid him the key card, Haymitch leaned forward slightly, "How about that liquor, huh?"

She glanced around and told him softly, "I'll see what I can do what about it. No promises!"

He winked. She said the same thing all the time but he would always find a bottle in his room.

Despite his exchange with the receptionist which might have been slightly flirtatious in nature, Haymitch's expression belied his real emotions. His blood was still boiling from what happened at Effie's apartment. He felt betrayed in a way though he knew that he shouldn't be feeling that way.

But she had returned his kisses and if he hadn't seen that ring, he was certain that things could have progressed quickly from those few harmless kisses. As much as he hated the idea of Effie and Marcus together, he didn't want to be the third party in their relationship especially if it was that serious. _Engaged,_ he thought furiously to himself. He had never once entertained the idea that they would get engaged and the news felt like a smack to his face.

He had thought that seeing as how Marcus was a complete arse, Effie would eventually find him terribly monotonous and leave him and Haymitch would…He wasn't sure what he would have done if they had broken up.

Haymitch scoffed as he fell into the soft luxurious bed.

Haymitch harboured no illusions about who he was and he was also certain that Effie would never reciprocate his feelings, which was the whole reason he had kept it to himself. He had never even imagined ever having such feelings for Effie. It truly started the year when Katniss and Peeta was crowned Victors and grew gradually when the Rebellion ended and the continued working together.

She grew on him, got under his skin and wormed her way into his heart and even if he wanted to break the grip she had on him, he wouldn't be able to. He respected her for never giving up on her tributes and her determination shone through during the 74th Hunger Games. Or perhaps, that was the only year that he was sober enough during the Games to pay attention to her while she flitted around Headquarters looking for sponsors.

He had never known what it was like to be in love – his girlfriend was the first girl he had gotten together with and his feelings hadn't run that deep. Her death was unfortunate; she just happened to be with him when he was Reaped. That fact alone haunted him.

But Effie was different. She irritated him to no end and he basked in the glory of annoying her just to see her break. Haymitch liked the fact that she had spirit and would fight instead of caving in. His need to protect her overwhelmed any other rational thought when they had finally carried her broken body out of the Capitol's prison and that need had not left him since then.

There was a knock on his door and Haymitch blinked his eyes open. He didn't realise that he had fallen asleep thinking about Effie. Glancing at the wall clock, he noted that it was already late afternoon.

Shuffling his way towards the door, he pulled it open and saw Anna standing there nervously with a bottle of Everclear.

"Thank you," he said and gave a mocking bow.

"Why'd you need something so strong for?"

"The normal alcohol just doesn't cut it for me anymore," he lied.

"You have to pay half for that, though. My manager is in, so I couldn't get it off for you at no charge."

"Yeah sure, sweetheart."

XxX

Haymitch drank the alcohol, slowly letting the liquid burn down his throat wishing that he could burn the memory of the incident in Effie's kitchen out of his mind. He kept on drinking to forget the feel of her lips on his, the smell of her almond lotion on her soft hands and the sound of her sweet voice as she moaned his name.

He thought he was succeeding when another memory floated through his mind – the day Effie stayed in bed after he spiked her food with laxatives; the first time and only time that they had slept together.

Groaning in frustration, he hurled the bottle against the wall where it shattered and stained the carpeted floor.

"Oh, great. A complete waste of good liquor," he grumbled.

Slamming the door to his room with such force that it rattled against the hinges, he made his way down to the hotel bar. He vowed to get completely wasted and stopped thinking about Effie or her damn engagement.

"Haymitch," the bartender acknowledged him. "The usual, I supposed?"

He shook his head, his messy blonde hair falling over his eyes. "Give me something stronger."

As he nursed his drink, he decided that he couldn't continue the way he was now. He couldn't keep his proximity to Effie any longer. If that meant ruining their friendship, then so be it. He'd managed to get through all these time by convincing himself that it was best to have her friendship than nothing at all, but he couldn't stand on the sidelines and watch her live out her life with another man. He would end it once and for all - take himself out of the picture.

He debated that decision back and forth the entire night as he grew increasingly drunk. With his vision beginning to blur and his speech slurring by the minute, the bartender was already holding off some of the alcohol despite Haymitch's request for more.

At one point in time, a woman had sat down on the stool beside him and had struck up a conversation which he ignored. Glancing in her direction, the two images of the woman swam before him. She looked nothing like Effie and he responded to her after a while because to his alcohol addled brain, she was a good way to try and forget Effie.

As the night grew older, Haymitch slumped against the counter top, drunk and exhausted to support his own weight. His hand was still gripping the whiskey glass.

"Another one, just another glass," he slurred.

"I think you've had enough. You should go up to your room," the bartender told him.

"Fine."

He slammed the glass down and tried to stand but since he had no control over his legs, he toppled over the woman who gave a shriek of surprise. Haymitch laughed drunkenly and tried to apologise.

"It's okay, I'll take him up to his room," he heard the woman said.

Her arms slid across his waist as she tried to support his weight. He slung his arm across her shoulder and began their awkward slow walk up to his room.

"You're warm," he told her truthfully. "Nice. You feel nice."

"And you're very, very drunk."

"I'm always drunk. Effie said… She said… Engaged."

He dug his palm into his eyes silently as he leaned heavily against the strange, warm woman in the elevator.

"Is that the reason? You're hurting? Because I've never seen you this drunk before," the woman told him, half supporting, half dragging his body out of the elevator towards his room.

_Before? Do I know her?_

"Pfft - no. Not hurting. No. I just …" he frowned. _What was that word? _He shook his head to try and focus but gave up quickly.

"Come to bed," he said, holding on to her arm and tugging her forward. He didn't know who the woman was but she wasn't Effie. She didn't have Effie's hair, doesn't smell and sound like her at all and that was all that mattered. He was trying to forget Effie and at three in the morning, that unknown woman seemed like a good idea.

She protested and Haymitch started to feel the beginning of a headache at the base of his neck. He was sloppy as he tried to kiss her. He kissed her lips again and again until she finally relented and returned his kisses.

They collapsed on the bed, a tangle mess of limbs and clothes. The room was dark; the lights turned down low. Haymitch couldn't see her face but he could feel her writhing under him, her hands clawing at his back and he could hear her soft moans and groans as he moved inside her.

Haymitch grunted as he came and the last thing he saw when he lifted his head from her shoulder was a crown of red hair.

XxX

"Holy mother…. My head," he muttered and grumbled as he started to come around from his sleep.

Haymitch immediately turned his back away from the sunlight streaming into his room and faced sideways only to be greeted by a warm female body.

Her face was turned the other way and she was sleeping on her stomach but Haymitch recognised that red hair nonetheless.

"Oh, fuck," he muttered softly under his breath. "Damn it, what do I do?"

One glanced at the clock told him that he had missed the meeting which had started three hours ago. Haymitch tried to discreetly leave the bed without waking her up and leave for the meeting. It was an important meeting – he needed to tell Paylor of his decision. He refused to be District Twelve's representative any longer.

However, as luck would have it, she chose that moment to wake up. Haymitch froze with one leg on the floor and the other bent on the bed.

"Morning," she said, blinking lazily.

Haymitch licked his lips in response and looked at her, his eyes darted from her face to the door.

"You don't remember what happened at all, do you?" Anna asked pulling the sheet up to her chest.

He hesitated as he considered lying to her. In the end, Haymitch shook his head. He was about to say something when he heard a key card slide into place and saw the door swung open.

"Haymitch! Where have you been? I swear if you're still sleeping, I will douse you in gasoline and burn you. You missed the meeting and we had to – Oh."

_Shit, of all the bad timings in the world…_

Both Anna and himself looked at each other before turning around towards the door to see Effie Trinket stopping dead in her tracks looking extremely flustered at the sight before her.

"I didn't – I'm…" Effie faltered. "Anna?"

He frowned watching the two women sizing each other up. "You know each other?" he blurted out.

"Of course I know her, Haymitch. I am in charge of all monthly reservations for the representatives," she snapped at him.

His eyes narrowed at her tone and he glowered. "How the fuck did you get in my room, Trinket?"

Effie rolled her eyes and lifted the key card in between her fingers. "Receptionist - had to find you when you didn't turn up."

"I should go," Anna announced, gathering her clothes in her arms and with the sheet still wrapped around her torso, she bolted out of the room leaving Haymitch and Effie staring at each other.

"Get dressed, and get to the meeting," she hissed. "We're having an hour-long lunch break and I drove all the way down here to get you."

"How nice of you."

"I really don't need your sarcasm right now."

He downed some pills to get rid of his headache and when he was dressed, he met Effie who was sitting on the hard backed chair, impatiently tapping her heels as she waited for him.

The car ride was spent in tensed silence. Effie gripped her steering wheel so hard Haymitch feared it might just dislodge. He, on the other hand, was trying hard to remember the events of last night and how that receptionist had ended up in his bed.

"Well, that was quick, wasn't it?", Effie asked suddenly as she parked the car.

"What… Yeah, I've never seen you drive that fast –"

"I'm not talking about my driving!" she snapped.

He looked confused and turned to look at her. "What is your problem, Trinket? Why do you keep sniping at me?"

She was staring out of the windshield, her lips pursed in a thin line and her body was rigid. When she remained oddly quiet, Haymitch rolled his eyes.

_Does she really have to be so bloody difficult and annoying?_

"What are you talking about then? 'Cause I don't know if you know, but I can't read your mind; bless the universe for that."

"Don't play coy, Haymitch," she replied immediately. "I'm talking about _her._ I'm talking about you and Anna."

"What about her?" he growled, rubbing his temples. His patience was running thin and Effie was not making any sense.

"What were you doing in bed with her?"

His eyebrows disappeared into his hair line, a sneer already forming on his lips. When she asked questions like that, she was just begging to be teased.

"I don't know, Effie. When a man and woman are naked in bed together, what do you _think_ happens? I had hope for you - I thought you weren't as stupid as you look but you caught me by surprise, yet again."

She shot him a contemptuous look. "Yes, that escalated quickly. You were kissing me in my kitchen that morning, with your hands all over me and then I found you in bed with another woman. I want an explanation."

_What the fuck? Is she serious?_ He bristled at her bossy demand and Haymitch was seriously beginning to question her sanity. It took him a minute to form a reply to her ridiculous request.

"You can't be serious? You're damn well engaged, Trinket. And you have to excuse me, because I. DIDN'T KNOW! You can't even pick up the damn phone to call me and I had to find that out on my own. How difficult is it to do that?" he shouted at her.

"When were you gonna tell me, huh? After we fuck? Was that your plan all along – to string me up? Is that your revenge for all that stupid pranks I did to you? If that was your plan, congratulations, I give – you win."

Effie was shaking her head and clutching his arm. "No, please. That wasn't – I didn't…" her voice was breaking and her eyes were beginning to water.

"Don't try to play the victim here, little dove. You very nearly cheated on your fiancé, so get off your high horse because I am done with you."

Haymitch got out of the car and slammed the door. He furiously walked away from her but he couldn't help it as he turned around after a few steps to check on her. Effie had her forehead pressed against the steering wheel and her body was shaking. For a split second, he considered going back to the car and apologise for shouting at her but decided against it.

_No, she deserves it. And you haven't done anything wrong._

He was convinced that he had not done anything wrong. They weren't together; he had not cheated on her. Effie was engaged. So why then did he feel guilty about Anna? And how could he even begin to explain the inexplicable need to convince Effie that Anna was a mistake and he didn't mean it.

* * *

**Just needed to say something:**

**LadyNobleSong**, you reviewed in Chapter 13 & hinted for "hot, steamy *cough* hate!sex *cough". Well, I would love to write that but it wouldn't fit with the plot, so I give you some Hayffie make out session.

**Lessthanthree13**, you totally freaked me out when you reviewed in Chapter 13 asking about Effie getting revenge by telling Haymitch she was engaged because I had that plot since chapter 1! So I was really excited to write this chapter, it's been planned in my head for ages! You were so close!

**And everyone else, thank you for all your reviews so far! They were truly brilliant and lovely :)**

**I'm just curious to know, after reading this chapter are you more angry with Haymitch or Effie? 'Cause my beta & I couldn't make up our minds. **


	16. Chapter 16

How are you all after the last chapter? I had a lot of indignant reviews. Thank you - reading your comments made me happy. :)

**Disclaimer: Not mine. **

* * *

Chapter 16

Part 1

There was nothing there, no foundation, no solid ground for her to plant her feet and stand up strong. The only thing present was the haunting silence of the empty carpark punctuated by Effie's sniffling.

The ache in her heart intensified with the slow realisation that they had driven each other away; that _she _had unintentionally drove him away. Wiping away her tears, Effie slowly got out of her car. She needed to get to the meeting; she couldn't let her personal problems interfere with her work.

Effie strode into the meeting with the grace of a queen, refusing to let anyone see the crack in her armour. Her steps faltered slightly when she noticed the empty seat beside her own, a seat that Haymitch usually occupied. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him sitting in between Plutarch and Beetee, his hand propped on the arm of the chair, covering his eyes as he waited for the meeting to start.

"Good afternoon. Welcome back. Ah, Haymitch, glad you could finally join us," Paylor greeted the room before gazing down at Haymitch who inclined his head in acknowledgment but said nothing else.

The meeting went on almost monotonously and with nothing to focus her interest on, Effie grew increasingly restless. There had been a few times when Effie had accidentally locked eyes with Haymitch which she quickly averted. His eyes were hard and unforgiving; there were frown lines etched on his face and a muscle in his jaw jumped whenever they accidentally looked at each other.

Her stomach twisted horribly. The last time Haymitch had looked at her that way was years ago when he still thought she was nothing but another bright, excitable Capitol escort.

Effie kept her head down and began doodling random patterns on her notepad as she let her mind wander. It was not her place to demand an explanation for Haymitch's behaviour. He could bring anyone to his bed and she had no right to question him. Effie knew that but she had allowed emotions to warp her judgment.

The odd emotions she felt a few hours ago had imprinted itself on her mind and it was not something she wanted to feel again. Her insides had coiled around itself when she walked in and found a naked woman in his bed. A woman Effie knew and liked. Anna was a lovely person who had moved to the Capitol in the hopes of providing a better life for her parents back home. She made Effie's job easier whenever Effie had to make arrangements to accommodate the District representatives, but at that particular moment she wanted to rip Anna's throat out; the image of her wrapped in Haymitch's sheet burnt permanently into her retinas.

Now that she was slightly calm, Effie couldn't really explain the indescribable anger and annoyance she felt at the knowledge of Haymitch being with another woman - the same anger that drove her to demand an explanation from him.

She tried to come up with a plausible explanation but it all sounded weak in her ears. Effie thought that Haymitch should have maintained a professional relationship with Anna but that didn't float. Anna wasn't his colleague; he never had to conduct any kind of business with Anna before. Effie had thought that the intense, spine-tingling kiss they shared in her kitchen would have meant something to him but even that would be unfair – she was engaged. Clearly the kiss didn't matter if he could quickly displace his affection to someone else.

In the end, Effie settled for the familiar feeling of being forgettable and easily replaced. Growing up, Effie was just a normal girl at school and she had to learn to ascend the social ladder the difficult way by working hard. She wasn't born into a wealthy, well-known family. Her parents were just regular citizens working for the Government. In her teenage years, she wrapped herself in colourful clothes and wigs to be noticed and slowly, it became another skin that masked who she really was. It worked wonderfully; her bold fashion caught people's attention but they hardly knew her as a person. As an adult, she had forgotten herself until her first pair of Tributes died, until the Rebellion broke out and recently, until Haymitch showed her how to live a little.

Effie tried to stand out, to be accepted and acknowledged but as it turned out, nobody really noticed her unless they needed her help planning an event, sorting out a problem and organising something, and once that was done, she melted again into the background.

It came as a surprise when Marcus first approached her, paid attention and listened to her opinions and it left her feeling very flustered. Effie had thought that it would be short-lived, and as she told Haymitch the night of the storm, she had agreed to dinner with Marcus to stop him from bothering her. But Effie had not expected him to ask her out again or show any further interest in her. Effie wasn't getting any younger and truthfully, she feared spending the rest of her life alone. The loneliness was a driving motivation for her continued involvement with Marcus.

When he had proposed, she had floated with giddiness. Everything that she had imagined and never thought possible was now suddenly within her grasp – a husband, children in the future, a family.

She thought of Haymitch of course, a few days after she accepted Marcus' proposal. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't forget the way her heart raced when Haymitch pressed her against the wall as they tried to escape from the paparazzi, the nice evening they shared sipping wine in the dark as they waited the storm out, or walking beside him barefooted in the rain and she could never forget the night they spent together – his large calloused hands roaming her skin, his lips on her neck, the feel of his hair bunched in her hand.

Effie cared about Haymitch – all those drunken nights when she supported him to bed or keep an eye out for him in case he got in trouble - it was difficult not to when they had been working together for so many years. Effie was many things but she wasn't delusional, she knew nothing would come out from their dysfunctional relationship. They annoyed each other too much, drove each other to their wits end and above all that, Haymitch confused her. There were moments when Effie was certain that he wanted her – perhaps it was just a moment of lust or perhaps there was something more, she wasn't sure - but his behaviour would revert and he would go back to irritating her.

It didn't matter anymore. They had created a toxic situation in which nothing the other party say would change anything. She would be honoured if Haymitch could be there when she got married, to have her oldest friend by her side but he was too angry with her and he had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with her anymore. Effie doubted that she could easily let go of all the terrible things Haymitch had done to her either. _And to think all of this started because I wanted to teach him how to drive, _Effie tittered in annoyance. Nothing they had would hold together, not when there was a constant destruction of anything they attempted to construct – a working relationship and now, a friendship.

There was also the matter of the kiss in her kitchen. She shouldn't have kissed him back; she really should have known her place. But it was impossible to stand her ground as his lips assaulted hers; when his tongue traced her bottom lips Effie could feel her resolve crumbling.

Effie had never meant for things to get so out of control and it wasn't true what he had accused her of doing. She never wanted to lead him on. It was all so confusing and she was immensely sorry that he thought that. Effie prided herself on her impeccable manners and excellent control of her emotions. She hardly ever reacted when someone insulted her or made use of her to solve some complex problem but Haymitch seemed to snap that perfect control she had cultivated over the years. He angered her and his insults usually left her bristling for hours on end. His sarcasm made her laugh when it wasn't directed at her and she felt the warmth spreading through her when he smiled because of some ridiculous thing she said or did.

The sound of multiple chairs being pushed back at once pulled her out of her reverie. She slowly gathered her belongings and looked up just in time to see Haymitch cornering President Paylor as she was about to leave. The discussion they were having looked serious and she wondered what they could possibly be discussing about. If it was anything about the welfare of District Twelve, Haymitch would have brought it up during the meeting. If the circumstances were different, Effie would have asked him as she drove him to get his monthly supply of liquor. She doubted that would even happen now.

As Effie stepped out of the elevator, Haymitch walked out from the opposite elevator. There was an awkward moment when Effie tried to side stepped him only for him to move the same direction she did.

"Get out of my way, Trinket."

She pressed herself flat against the wall and allowed him to pass the narrow corridor. As he moved further away from her, Effie gave chase.

"Haymitch! Haymitch, wait. Please, wait."

He stopped but didn't turn around. Gathering her wits about her, Effie began to apologise.

"I'm sorry. I really, really am."

"What are you sorry for?"

Effie frowned. _Yes, Effie, what are _you_ sorry for?_ She couldn't exactly pinpoint the reason for her apology. For kissing him back? For walking in on him and Anna? For being rude and demanding an explanation when it wasn't hers to demand? She didn't know so she settled for the easiest.

"Everything. I'm just sorry for … for what happened."

He glanced at her dubiously and shrugged. "Yeah, whatever."

His eyes fell on the diamond ring on her finger and Effie tried to subtly move it out of his line of vision. His apparent disapproval of it made her uncomfortable, especially not when she couldn't explain why he would even disapprove. She thought having friends meant having someone that would feel happy for her when something as life-changing as an engagement occurred but it was probably too much to expect from Haymitch.

Effie didn't know what else to say and the situation was becoming increasingly tense.

"I – I really shouldn't have –"

"You shouldn't," he cut her off, not allowing her to finish her sentence. "Look, Eff, it's best if we … keep our distance from each other. I have no fucking idea what just happened between us and …" He gave a bitter laugh and rubbed his forehead uncomfortably.

"That's a … I think that's a good idea. We just need to calm down, get some time away from each other and when I see you next month –"

"You won't see me next month or the month after. I told Paylor I won't be back. I just need to find her a replacement."

Effie's eyes widened before she blinked at him owlishly. "What?"

"Have you gone deaf?" he sneered.

"You quit? Just like that? But – what will you be doing? This monthly meeting is good for you, it gets you out of the house and you get to meet people!"

"I believe that's none of your concern and don't –", he shook his head at her "- don't tell me what's good for me."

Effie swallowed her reply, afraid of provoking him further and digging a deeper grave for herself.

"Congratulations," he muttered before turning on his heels and walking away.

XxX

For three days, Effie avoided Marcus. She couldn't face him yet, not when Haymitch's words still echoed so loudly in her head. _You very nearly cheated on your fiancé._

It wasn't _very nearly,_ was it? She had kissed another man and for that brief moment, Effie had enjoyed it. She may not have slept with Haymitch in that instance but kissing him and enjoying his kisses fulfilled the definition of cheating in her opinion.

Effie was consumed with guilt both over Haymitch and Marcus and she felt so undeniably lost and alone. When the war had been won and the nightmares plagued her sleep, and when Effie felt alone and afraid, she would call Haymitch. He was the only one who understood nightmares and who knew what she went through. But she couldn't talk to Haymitch about Haymitch or about Marcus and she couldn't talk to Marcus without explaining to him what had happened.

In the end, she called Katniss who sounded so surprised at her phone call and with reason, too. Effie usually wrote to them or paid them a visit if she was at Twelve.

"How is everyone? How is little Prim?"

"We're all in excellent health, Effie. Thank you for asking. And Prim is learning to walk now which means she is all over the house. I've never had to run so much."

They talked for a while more and even if she didn't pour her sorrows out to Katniss, she felt better just listening to her talking about her daughter.

"How's Haymitch?" she asked finally.

There was a pause on the line. "It's like there's a black cloud hanging over his head. The last time I've seen him in such a foul mood was when he had no access to any alcohol."

Effie cleared her throat. "Well, maybe you should check if he is running low on them? I could – I could send some of his favourites over, if you like."

"I will. But I think there's something else bothering him and you know him, Effie. He won't talk. You know anything about what's causing this?"

"No, I don't," she replied quickly and changed the subject. Her voice quickly took on an excited tone. "I have something to tell you! I'm engaged, Katniss."

"You're what? That's wonderful news! Congratulations! Why didn't you tell us sooner? Oh, hold on, hold on… Peeta!" she shouted for him. "He's coming down - you have to tell him this news yourself."

"Effie?"

"Peeta!" she greeted him warmly.

"Engaged, I heard?" he chuckled over the phone.

She couldn't help the blush covering her cheeks. Effie spent the next few minutes telling Peeta all about Marcus and him promising Katniss that he would relate the story once he got off the phone.

"Are you okay, Effie? You don't sound… Well, you sound troubled for someone who had just recently gotten engaged."

Trust sweet sensitive Peeta to pick up her mood. She smiled at that.

"I'm just worried, that's all. I … How do you do it with Katniss?"

"I'm guessing you're not asking for wedding tips because a Capitol wedding and a District wedding is different. So… relationship advice?"

"How do you make it work?" she clarified.

Effie heard him breathe out slowly before answering. "My father told me once that honesty and trust is important and I think he's right about it. And with those two, communication comes naturally and with that understanding. Mutual respect, too."

_Honesty and trust. _

Hanging up the phone, Effie felt the weight on her chest lift slightly. She resolved to tell Marcus the truth about Haymitch. Afraid though she might be of his reaction, Marcus deserved to know and she refused to enter a marriage with a baggage of lies.

XxX

If Marcus noticed a shift in her mood, he kept quiet about it and for that, Effie was grateful. He did however take extra care to treat her nicely by sending her bouquets of flowers to bring a smile to her face, took her out to get her favourite chocolate covered strawberries one starry night and even went as far as to draw her a bubble bath hoping that it would soothe her.

"You're just stressed, love. That's all," he told her as he pushed her lightly towards the bathroom.

Effie wished that he would stop being such a nice gentleman because it only increased the guilt ten-fold. It had been a week since her phone call with Peeta and each time she wanted to sit down and tell him, Marcus would do something so endearing for her that she didn't have the heart to confess her treachery. She kept telling herself that she would do it the next day, but the next day become another and soon days turned into a week.

"Darling, come on out. There are packages here for you," he called out to her.

Effie had been at home the entire day and wasn't even aware that she was due any deliveries. She met Marcus who was balancing two packages wrapped in brown paper in his hands and pushing the door open with his shoulder.

"Postman came the same time I reached," he said, by way of explanation. Quickly, she moved forward and took a box from him, inspecting it closely.

"Oh, it's from Peeta and Katniss!" Effie exclaimed excitedly, as her eyes quickly skimmed the card attached on top of the package.

Marcus set the package in his hand on the coffee table and sat down on the sofa watching Effie untie the white ribbon surrounding it. When the paper fell open and she pried the flap of the box, Effie clapped her hands together and squealed in delight.

She took out two white coffee mugs with the word "Mr" and "Mrs" on each one of those mugs.

"They're such sweet kids, Marc! And we're not even married yet! It's so pretty," Effie gushed as she handed him the mug bearing the word "Mr".

"Read the card," he replied, exchanging the card for the mug.

"They send their greetings and wished us a happy engagement and hope that we'll find the mugs useful. Oh, they also said that they've told Haymitch a present was appropriate and I quote, _"I hope his gift found its way with ours!"_"

"Good kids," Marcus patted her hand. "That must be Abernathy's gift. Why do you look so terrified?"

"I don't trust anything from that man."

Effie vividly recalled the fright she had months ago when Haymitch had sent her a large jack-in-the-box. It was within her rights to be wary of anything that Haymitch gave her and, after their terrible fight there was absolutely no reason for him to be bearing her gifts.

"Oh, go on, Effie. It's probably nothing dangerous. Perhaps the gift isn't as wonderful as we might expect and this is Abernathy we're talking about, but he doesn't need to know that. Just open it and find out."

"You open it then, if you're so curious," she retorted.

"With your permission, my lady," he teased her lightly before he carefully peeled out the tape at the edges of the brown paper wrapped around the package.

"Goodness, Marc, just tear it out."

Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and the suspense was killing her. Effie did not have a good feeling about Haymitch's gift. When they parted, he had been angry with her and if he wanted to exact some sort of revenge that was the perfect opportunity.

"What was that noise?" Effie asked, startled.

"What noise? That's probably just the crinkling of the paper. Really, darling, I think the stress is getting to you."

"No, no, I heard something! And papers don't make that kind of sound, Marcus." She sighed internally. Marcus could be sweet but there were times when he said things that didn't make sense at all.

A small card with a familiar messy handwriting caught Effie's attention and she turned it over in her hand to read it.

_E, kids made me do this but you will love my gift so much, you _**will**_ scream and jump – H._

Effie choked when she read the card, fearing some cunning devilry up his sleeve. No sooner had that thought crossed her mind, Marcus who was already pushing the paper away and peeling the flap open gave a terrible, ear piercing high-pitched shriek. She gaped at the sight of him jumping on her sofa before she felt herself being pulled up in front of him as a human shield.

* * *

Drum roll for Haymitch's gift!Cookies for anyone who can guess what sort of hell Haymitch has in store for Effie.

A/N: That's all for Chapter 16, I have to be at the airport in a few hour's time for my long awaited holiday. The Mayan's apocalypse may occur while I'm in a plane! It'll be nice to come back to reviews, so please leave some if you like this chapter.


	17. Chapter 17

and the story continues...

* * *

Chapter 17

Part II

Complete pandemonium erupted in Effie's house. Marcus was continuously screaming at the top of his lungs as he constantly pushed Effie forward, using her as a line of defence. Poor, terrified Effie was desperately scrambling back, pushing hard against the hands that were shoving her. She made a gurgling noise of desperation before turning on her heels and crouching behind the sofa with her arms covering her head protectively.

Soon enough, Marcus ran to where she was and adopted the same crouching stance in front of Effie. He was out of breath with eyes wide open.

"What are you doing here? Get rid of them, Marc, get rid of those pests!" she shrieked in alarm, swatting his arm urgently.

"Have you gone completely mental? I am not, I will not – oh dear lord! – Effie it's on your head!"

She didn't need to be told because at that moment, Effie had gone completely stiff. There was something terrible on her head. It felt slimy, gooey and heavy. She shuddered in revulsion and felt the bile rising in her throat.

"MARCUS!" she screamed, jumping to her feet, her hands flailing uselessly because she absolutely refused to touch it.

"Just knock it off, Effie. Be calm, just swat it away, there is no need to panic."

Marcus was certainly a preacher who obviously did not practice the nonsense he was telling Effie. He himself was doing some sort of odd dance in front of her. Squeezing her eyes shut and gritting her teeth, she knocked it off and watched as it leaped away landing on a piece of her furniture.

Glancing around, Effie gasped and her eyes nearly bulged of its socket, eerily similar to the eyes of the amphibians jumping and leaping about in her precious home.

"You make odd acquaintances, Effie, and I hope you've realised by now what a depraved human being that Abernathy is. I pray you cut him off from your life once we get married!" he said breathlessly as he moved from one place to another to avoid the jumping frogs.

"Now's not really the time be discussing him," Effie shouted from the other end of the room. There was nothing to discuss since Haymitch and her weren't on talking terms at the moment but even so, a box of live frogs was a nasty present to give anyone.

Surely, demanding an explanation about a woman he slept with did not warrant such a terrible revenge?

Effie pressed herself flat against the wall and held her breath as a small, young frog with a short stumpy tail landed inches from Effie's feet. She froze, afraid that any slight movement might set off the small frog. It was not bigger than her palm and had not yet reached its full adult size – not that Effie would know anything about frogs. They hardly ever come across such creatures in the Capitol. There were no lakes, ponds or any body of water that would be habitable for such animals near the place where Effie lived. The nearest pond was at the edge of the Capitol in a park only recently built after the war.

She wanted very much to be rescued and whisked away but glancing up fearfully, she saw that it was a hopeless wish. Marcus was leaping in the air and running around in circles with one of Effie's throw pillow held protectively in front of him. He was cursing Haymitch alongside the frogs and the absurd situation he currently found himself in. It was comical and Effie very much wanted to laugh if she herself was not so terribly grossed out. Effie swallowed the sarcastic remark at the tip of her tongue as she watched Marcus attempt to inflict some sort of bodily harm on any jumping frogs with her green, fluffy cushion. He failed to realise that it only worsened the situation. Frogs are extremely agile creatures, making them very difficult to catch and the fact that they could leap high in the air did nothing to help the situation. Yet, Marcus was still foolishly trying to bat them all away.

"Catch them, Marcus! Put them in somewhere, anywhere! And be quick about it before they hop all over my house!"

"Oh, be quiet, you foolish woman! You're not suggesting I catch them with my bare hands? Just look at these slimy, ugly green things! They're revolting!"

Effie gritted her teeth and counted to ten to temper her anger. That was the problem with all these Capitol men. They were so metrosexual; so decidedly vain that it irked her. She was the woman, so wasn't she the one who was supposed to be terrified out of her mind with frogs of different colours wreaking havoc in her home?

She was shaking with rage at Haymitch for his _gift_ and she was internally panicking about the damage these webbed-creatures could do to her house. She detested and would naturally jump ten feet in the air at the sight of a lizard or a cockroach or in her case now, frogs.

What use was a man if he couldn't be a hero sometimes? It shattered any façade of masculinity Marcus ever possessed. Effie loathed women who couldn't seem to be independent and would rather be the damsel in distress but given her circumstances, she had every right to feel like she needed saving. _What would I know about catching frogs in the first place?_

Effie answered her own question in a flash. She knew nothing about catching frogs and neither did Marcus which was the reason why she presumed Haymitch had sent them in the first place.

If that was the case, Haymitch would definitely not be invited to her wedding. She would have sent him an invitation out of courtesy and whether or not he attended was his prerogative. Now, however, Effie wouldn't risk him attending her wedding and ruining it with some sort of mischief.

She trained her eyes on the small frog inches away from her feet and choked back a terrified sob when another slightly larger frog joined it, emitting a loud croak. She was truly and utterly trapped now. There was certainly no way she could creep away without alerting the frogs.

_Please don't jump on me. Please don't jump on me. Please._

Haymitch had been smart enough to send the frogs in a large, thick box masking any movement from the animals. Most of the frogs were small and had barely completed their metamorphosis into fully grown adult frogs; the croaking noises they made were not so audible while in the box. There were however one or two large frogs in the mix.

Marcus's scream startled her so much that her sudden, jerky movement caused the frogs to leap away to safety. Her scream joined his in a terrible, ear shattering choir.

He grew quiet all of a sudden and Effie heard a thud. Whirring around, she saw her fiancé lying flat on his back on the floor knocked out cold. A large, murky brown toad was beside his face croaking loudly.

Effie didn't know it yet but years from now, she would reminisce about this day and laugh at how Marcus was so petrified that he fainted.

"Is everything alright in there? I heard screaming!" a man shouted through her door, knocking persistently.

"Please… Please call a pest-controller! And hurry! They're everywhere."

She was met with silence and for a split second, Effie genuinely thought her neighbour had left.

"What did you say? Pest-controller? What is going on in there? What is in your house?"

"Yes, pest-controller! Frogs," she answered, inching closer towards Marcus while keeping her eyes out for any stray frogs.

"Surely you're joking! There are no frogs around here."

"JUST CALL THE COMPANY!" she screamed, finally losing her patience.

XxX

She hated Haymitch. Effie was certain there was nothing in all of Panem that could match her hatred for Haymitch. Nothing… Except maybe frogs.

She folded her arms across her chest and sat grimly in the waiting room. Marcus had been brought to the hospital to receive treatment. He was treated for a bad case of shock and much to Effie's disbelief and annoyance, he had kicked up a fuss demanding that the doctor examine him thoroughly for any signs of diseases or infections he might have contracted from being in the same enclosed space with foreign animals.

"I could have rabies, Effie!" he hissed out of the corner of his mouth.

She took a deep breath and lowered her voice to an angry whisper. "Marcus, you are being absolutely paranoid. Rabies is from warm-blooded animals!"

"Nonetheless, better be safe. I could be poisoned for all I know. Abernathy is a monster and clearly murderous."

That struck a nerve.

"He may be many things, Marcus. Insufferable, drunk, sloppy, dirty and he may even be extremely childish at times but let me just tell you, he is not that wicked to send poisonous frogs. It's just a good laugh for him."

Marcus scoffed and glared at her.

"I highly doubt it. I felt as though my heart had given way. I could have died. I really could have died," he insisted. "And why are you defending him? From what I can see, you're better off not associating yourself with a brute like him."

She really did try to be sympathetic towards Marcus's plight but it was difficult when he insisted on dramatizing everything. Effie wondered briefly if Haymitch had felt that way with her each time she lost her mind when something did not go according to her schedule. He must have had a lot of patience to be able to sit through her panic attacks. Then again, that was probably why he always carried a bottle with him – partly to drown his misery and also to block her out.

"A brute who wouldn't have shrieked like a girl, I can assure you."

He scowled - the wrinkles on his forehead marred his handsome face – and opened the door to her car, yanking it hard.

"I shriek like a girl? Seriously, darling, I question your upbringing. Did you not find it rude to send frogs as an engagement gift? Surely you can see how wrong that is? Instead of demeaning me, why don't you put that energy of yours to good use and do something about Abernathy?"

Effie gasped.

"My upbringing? _My upbringing?_ Do not bring my parents into this, Marcus! It's just your paranoia about diseases and infections that's making things worse!" She turned on the ignition and in a much softer voice, Effie tried to placate him. "The situation is completely under control, for your information. I have contacted a company to eradicate the problem. They've also assured me that my house would be disinfected accordingly. Really, you are blowing things out of proportion."

"This is not about me! This is about your _friend, _Abernathy and how out of control he is."

"Yes, Marcus, it's about him and we've already talked about him at the hospital. How many times are we going to have this conversation?"

"There you go again. You get all twisted each time I bring him up. Why are you defending him? Remind me, darling, who are you really engaged to - me or him?"

"You're going off on a tangent again, Marc!"

"Fine, my apologies," he rubbed his hand on Effie's thigh soothingly. "But I stand by what I said. Today has clearly shown me what kind of a man he is and I do not approve of him."

The fire burning in her blood was steadily growing out of control but she was rational enough to pull her car to the side of the road before turning to face Marcus.

"We may be engaged Marcus and I love you, I really do but you do not get to say who I could be friends with or if you do not approve of the company I keep."

"Do you?" he asked softly.

_What? Do I what?_ That question had thrown her completely off guard and not at all what she was expecting. She had expected him to put up a fight and disagree with her.

"Do you really love me?"

Effie blinked – once, twice, three times. "Of – Of course, I do. How could you even –"

He chuckled, "Because I don't think you do, darling. I think you're settling."

"What do you mean, Marc? You're scaring me."

She was truly perplexed by the turn in conversation. They were disagreeing and fighting with each other and now, Effie could see that they were about to plunge into one of those deep, emotional conversations.

"It's him. It was always him, Effie. You and him, you're so different and so wrong but he always had something of yours that I would never have. He has your attention. You don't think you could ever be with him, or that he would ever want you, so you settled. You settled for the next best thing you could get – me."

He paused and continued staring out of the windshield. He scrunched his face as though he had just swallowed something bitter. "Your differences made up for each other, and it pains me to admit, complete each other. You have what he doesn't and he has what you don't."

"I don't understand," she shook her head.

Marcus tucked a stray blonde hair behind her ears and blinked slowly up at her. "Maybe one day you will. You fought with him, didn't you? You think I didn't notice how quiet you've been the past few weeks? Your sour face? His lack of phone calls? I can feel it in my guts what's going on between you and him."

"Marcus…"

His hand curled around hers and traced the ring sitting on her finger.

"I don't think you know how much you care about that man. You should have seen the fire blazing in your eyes moments ago when you defended him. And I wonder if you would ever fight for me like that…" He spoke the last part so softly that Effie was sure she would have missed it if she had not been paying attention.

She laid her palm flat against his cheek and forced him to look up at her. "Don't talk like that, Marcus. You're my fiancé, of course I'll fight for you. Let's … Let's just go home, okay? Please."

"I would marry you, Effie, but I think … Don't you think we're too alike?"

Effie smiled slightly at that. "Isn't that good a thing? We know each other and what to expect from one another."

He leaned forward and cupped Effie's check, a cheeky smile on his face. "Yes, because that'll be just like marrying yourself."

Her blood ran cold. _ What exactly is he saying?_ He must have been so traumatised that it was affecting his mental faculties. Effie tried another method. "I'll marry you, Marcus. I will. I said yes, didn't I?"

"I don't doubt that. But I'm no challenge and you, my darling, you love a challenge."

She frowned slightly at that. A challenge was always good and Effie never backed down from a challenge. But whatever Marcus was saying, it had to come from somewhere. She had to find the trigger.

"There is something you're not telling me. I can feel it," she asked suspiciously.

A smile lit up his face when he realised that Effie had caught him. Heaving his chest in a sigh, he told her the truth, "Sometimes you mumble his name in your sleep, did you know?"

Effie started. She definitely did not know that. The walls of the car seemed to be caving in on her as her mind started reeling from the implications of what he just said. _What else?_ Had she said anything else in her sleep? She swallowed painfully.

"My turn - is there something you're hiding from me? You bought me that expensive bow tie last week. I think I know guilt and I think I know when someone is trying to assuage her guilt," his voice was soft and he smiled at her, trying to put up a brave front.

Effie spluttered and unconsciously strengthened her grip on his hand. _He deserves the truth, Effie._

"I… Haymitch…. I don't know how to…," she exhaled slowly. She had not imagined that they would be discussing her complex relationship with Haymitch or how perceptive Marcus was. Everything was falling apart and if she confessed, it would be the proverbial nail in the coffin. She shouldn't patronize Marcus with any more lies.

"He came to my apartment one day to return my planner and… we were fighting and shouting and then … and then we were kissing. I had no idea how … I didn't initiate it, Marcus, but I kissed him back. And…Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. We were already engaged then and I shouldn't have…"

He shook his head sadly and Effie could see the hurt etched on his face. She wished that he would rage and scream at her. That was easier to face than his stony silence. _You don't deserve anything easy. You have to face this._

All those times she had known him, Marcus had rarely lost his temper. That was another difference between him and Haymitch. While Haymitch was irritable and quick-tempered especially when he had not enough to drink, Marcus was easy-tempered and diplomatic in nature, preferring to talk his problems out. Haymitch kept his problems to himself which made it difficult for Effie to read him. Effie loved Marcus but perhaps, not enough to be in love with him.

"I slept with him, Marcus. In District Twelve while I was on the job. I – It was nothing, Marcus, I swear. It was just - "

Effie squeezed her eyes shut and wept.

"It's never "nothing" with a woman," he breathe out. "Thank you for being honest," he said finally after a stretch of silence.

Marcus slowly slid the ring out of her finger and Effie could only watch it with mounting horror. The panic engulfed her and her eyes flickered to Marcus in confusion. He turned the ring between his fingers, inspecting it heartbreakingly before turning to Effie with a forced smile on his face.

"Shall I throw this away?"

He gave her no chance to speak at all. The window was wound down and with a flick of his wrist, he tossed the ring out. It landed somewhere in the bushes.

There was a long painful silence. Marcus glanced briefly at Effie. She was hunched over, silently crying. Marcus pulled his hands away - not roughly or brusquely – when she reached out to touch him.

"I'll drive. Come on, move over. Let's just go home. It's been an entirely long day," he said as he stepped out of the car.

Effie could only nod. The constant turn of events going on in her life was driving her insane and wearing her out. She could hardly keep up before something else happened. The conflicting emotions were warring inside her and all she wanted… She wanted Haymitch. Effie wanted to talk to him and share it with him, like she had done all these while.

* * *

Not sure about you but I feel sorry for Marcus!

The inspiration for the frogs came because of my own dislike of it which developed many years ago when my parents bundled us city kids to a very rural village of some distant cousin. I woke up & there was a huge toad by my feet!

Cookies to Angelfish for guessing correctly! Lollipops to everyone else for trying! I enjoyed reading your reviews and guesses so much! :) Keep them coming.


	18. Chapter 18

Early update this week because it's new year's eve!

Disclaimer: Not mine

* * *

Chapter 18

The clouds were gathering in the sky, providing much needed shade from the glaring heat of the afternoon sun when Haymitch crossed the lawn over to the Mellarks' house. He stomped his boots on the welcome mat and strode into their dining room.

Peeta was trying to wrap a box with brown paper while Prim was curiously standing on the chair, her small chubby hands picking up everything she saw on the table. She snatched the roll of white ribbon and unrolled it. Peeta sighed and she squealed with glee at the mess she made.

"Where's Katniss?" Haymitch asked.

"Up in her room."

Having heard his voice, Prim turned towards Haymitch and held out her hand demanding to be carried. Haymitch looked at her critically but made no attempt to hold the toddler. He raised an eyebrow in return.

"I heard your mother complaining about you - running around in those short legs. You don't need me to carry you," Haymitch told the small girl.

"If you could just indulge her, Haymitch, maybe I could wrap Effie's present in peace."

Peeta looked up at him and back at Prim who was trying to get down from the chair the moment she realised Haymitch would not be fulfilling her demand.

"Have you gotten Effie's engagement present yet? I know Katniss told you to so there is no – be careful, Primrose! – reason for you to forget. We're sending it to her soon so please don't put it off any longer."

"No. I'll get them tomorrow before both of you chew my ear off," Haymitch scowled at Peeta and bend down to pick Prim who had ran towards him. "You ever saw a frog before, kid? No? Wanna get some?"

He carried Prim out of the house before Peeta could protest and brought her to the large pond at the end of District Twelve. He set her down on one of the large rocks and pointed out the butterflies flying about. Prim pushed herself off the rock and began chasing the butterflies happily.

Haymitch had never been good with children and avoided them before the Rebellion. He never wanted to get to know those children in District Twelve for fear that he would one day have to send them to their death. His behaviour, shaped by years of practice, continued even after the Rebellion and he had not much contact with children except for Prim. That was also partly due to the fact that her parents stayed next door to him and he frequently went over to their house for dinner. The only other child that he tolerated was Annie's son, Finian who was also his godson – a role he begrudgingly accepted after being assured repeatedly by Peeta that Finnick would have wanted it for him.

With the presence of the only two kids in his life, he slowly began to warm up to them and in one of his rare good moods, he would take Prim out. Katniss and Peeta had to bribe him at times to bring Prim out for walks but he did so only because he didn't want them to know that he was actually quite fond of that girl.

Once she lost interest in the butterflies, Haymitch entertained Prim by throwing stones into the pond and watched quietly as the curious girl stared at the rippling effect in fascination.

"More!" she squeaked excitedly.

Stone throwing didn't really require much of his attention, which was at that moment focused on trying to figure out what best to give that annoying woman in the Capitol for her recent engagement. He scowled at the mere thought of it but Peeta and Katniss had told him to get a gift and outright refusal or putting up too much of a fight would lead to them pestering him with more questions, ones that were likely to lead to uncomfortable areas. He wasn't up to discussing his problems with Effie with them or anyone else for that matter. Katniss and Peeta were already suspicious enough as it is when he returned from the Capitol a couple of days back looking like he was ready to murder someone.

He stewed in anger and drank until he passed out at the bar in the Seam and someone had to send him home; something that had not occurred since he stopped being a mentor. The following days chilled his wrath and he set out to find a replacement for the committee. It was a miracle that he found a blossoming young woman in her early twenties eager to try something new and explore the world without the threat of being thrown into an arena hanging over her head. He figured that Effie and his new replacement would get along better than Effie and he ever could.

Prim's shrill shriek and her hurried footsteps running in his direction stilled his hand that was about to throw another stone. She ran straight to Haymitch sitting by the boulder and stood in between his legs, burying her face in his stomach.

"Bad frog," she mumbled.

Haymitch chuckled when he saw what had frightened the girl. "Just a frog, kid. Harmless little creature."

She shook her head and repeated herself. "Bad frog."

"It's not all that bad. Look at it, kid, it's just – oh, bad frog. Bad frog!"

Laughter shook his body and Prim looked up at him questioningly. "You don't like frogs, kid?"

Again, she shook her head. "How about we send some to your Aunt Effie?"

"Aunt Effie likes frogs?" she asked, her words jumbling up as she tried to speak like an adult.

"Oh, I bet she does. She'll like it. How about that? But you must not tell your mum and dad, okay?"

XxX

Catching the frogs was an easy enough task for Haymitch. In his youth, he had often spent time after school with his brother and their friends by a canal catching frogs. He stopped that hobby when he had to take over his father's role and be responsible for his family, but the skills never abandoned him.

Haymitch adamantly refused to answer any questions pertaining to his gift when he finally gave the box containing the frogs to Peeta to be sent off together with their gift. Katniss was persistent in her questioning, wanting to know if the gifts were appropriate but Haymitch was as stubborn as Katniss was persistent.

"You've sent it off?"

"Yes, I have - yesterday. We're taking Prim to the meadow, would you like to join?" Peeta offered.

"Nah, go ahead."

He planned to stay home and wait by his phone for a phone call that he was sure would be entertaining. An extremely livid Effie Trinket was always entertaining. Needless to say, despite being angry with Effie for the whole fiasco following the scene she walked in on at the hotel room, he was looking forward to her reaction to his wonderful gift. He had after all put in a lot of effort into catching those frogs.

There was no phone call from Effie that day and Haymitch thought that perhaps the delivery of the gift was delayed. So he did the same the following day. Haymitch sat in his armchair with a bottle of bourbon in his hands and was left feeling disappointed when Effie still did not call him by nightfall.

It did cross his mind that perhaps she was too angry to even want to talk to him. It was a pity, really. That was the final send off, a parting prank before he really turned his back on her. He considered calling her but decided against it. It was better this way for he never knew what would happen if he heard her voice again. He might just swallow his decision to end their friendship and claim back his position at the committee.

Somehow in his drunken haze, the sound of the ringing phone registered in his mind and he staggered towards it, secretly hoping that it was Effie.

"Hello, Haymitch!"

_Annie._

"Uhh, Annie?"

"Oh dear, did I call you at a bad time?"

"No," he shook his head to try and focus. "No. What is it? Everything alright?"

Haymitch had always been friends with Finnick although their camaraderie wasn't as strong as his was with Chaff. But the Rebellion forced them close together and their friendship was forged even greater when they were both stuck in District Thirteen. Before he left for the Capitol with Katniss, Finnick had bid Haymitch to look after his family and he took the job seriously, refusing to fail him as he had failed to save Chaff.

"Annie?" he prompted when there was no response from her.

Annie does that. At times, she lost her train of thought and lapsed into silence.

"Oh – it's Fin. He's asking for you. Hold on, I'll get him on the phone."

He tried hard to focus on the conversation that Fin was trying to have with him but he was having double vision and everything swam before his eyes.

"Come and visit me," he had pleaded and Haymitch had agreed without really thinking about it.

The next thing he knew, Annie was back on the phone and they were making arrangements for him to come down to District Four.

"I heard you quit the committee so anytime will be good for you, isn't it? Unless you have other commitments?"

"Nothing I know of. Next week is good. I'll be there, so prepare the alcohol."

He heard her titter in disapproval but knew that there would be alcohol as long as he didn't drink in the presence of her son.

XxX

Haymitch couldn't remember if they had set a specific date when Annie told him "next week". Therefore, it didn't come as a surprise to him that Annie and Fin weren't there to greet him the moment he alighted at the bustling station of District Four.

The train station was packed with people from all the different districts. It became a popular destination for most of the citizens in Panem because it was the only district with access to the sea, unlike the rest of the landlocked Districts and the Capitol. Resorts were commissioned to be built with the hopes of generating more tourism dollars and the corresponding expenditure, which would then benefit employment and income and so far, it had proved to be working well.

Haymitch rolled his eyes when he saw a Capitol citizen haggling with a street vendor over an item.

"I cannot give you any cheaper! This is the best price that you will get."

"Something of this make does not warrant that sort of price, I can assure you!"

"Well then, why don't you try to find it at some other shop?" cried the shopkeeper indignantly.

He slung his duffel bag over his shoulder and pulled out the silver flask containing his trusted friend. As he walked over to Annie's house, he drank as much whiskey as he could, knowing that the next time he could get his hand on a bottle would be when Fin went to bed and he doubted he could last that long without alcohol in his system.

The sun was slowly setting and Haymitch hurried along, wanting to reach the warmth and hospitality of their house before night time. The street lamps lit up the streets enough for him to make out their red front door in the distance.

He knocked on the door and as Haymitch waited by the front porch, he capped his silver flask and pocketed it safely. When the door finally opened, Haymitch did a double take and nearly fell off the banister as he reeled back in surprise.

"Oh my god," a familiar Capitol accent exclaimed.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Trinket?"

* * *

Do leave a review!

A/N: I feel that i should mentally prepare everyone - Live A Little will be coming to an end soon. In less than five chapters, i think. Other than that, HAPPY 2013 everyone!

Joining the Hayffie fandom is one of the best things in 2012 for me.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own Effie or Haymitch.

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Chapter 19

**Previously**

_He knocked on the door and as Haymitch waited by the front porch, he capped his silver flask and pocketed it safely. When the door finally opened, Haymitch did a double take and nearly fell off the banister as he reeled back in surprise._

_"Oh my god," the familiar Capitol accent exclaimed._

_"What the fuck are you doing here, Trinket?"_

* * *

"Me? What are _you_ doing here?"

"No, what – are you following me, woman?" he asked crossly.

"Don't be absurd! Why would I do that? I have better things to do," Effie turned her nose up at Haymitch and marched back into the house.

Haymitch was about to retort something sarcastic when Fin came barrelling out of his room. "Uncle Mitch!"

"Don't run, Finian," Effie reprimanded him.

He stuck out his tongue at Effie playfully who sighed and disappeared into one of the rooms. A moment later she reappeared with Annie hot on her heels.

A huge smiled spread on her lips when she saw Haymitch standing in her hallway and she quickly walked up to him to give him a hug. Haymitch who was still not used to being embraced by that petite woman, unconsciously stiffened at her touch before wrapping his arms around her.

"What is she doing here?" he asked as he drew back, jerking his head to where Effie was standing behind Annie watching him unimpressively.

"_I _am visiting my friend," Effie answered testily with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Is that so?" he sneered. "Well, you've visited, now go on, Trinket. Go home – get out of here."

She spluttered indignantly. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"This is not your house, Haymitch Abernathy and you have no right – _no right – _to drive me out."

"Nobody's leaving. Everyone's welcome to stay," Annie quickly interjected, looking at each of them in turn curiously. There was no response from the two of them as they stared each other down. "How about dinner, then?"

Fin slipped his hand into Effie's own. Effie looked quite surprise at that gesture and Haymitch watched as the excited boy pulled her towards the dining room. Annie smiled at her son's behaviour. "He's warming up to Effie," she informed him as they followed the pair.

They settled down for dinner with Haymitch trying to get a seat as far away as possible from Effie who had the same intention in mind. They ended up sitting across from each other with Fin beside Haymitch and Annie sitting next to Effie.

"So, how was your journey here, Haymitch?" Annie asked trying to diffuse the tension already settling in by starting some small talk.

"It was fine."

"That's good," she nodded as she spooned some mashed potatoes into Haymitch's plate.

"There's a lot more people here in Four I noticed," Effie piped in. Soon enough, the two women were engaged in a conversation which Haymitch was glad did not include him.

He turned his attention towards the boy next to him playing with his green beans.

"What are you up to nowadays?"

"Mummy's teaching me how to read."

"Isn't it too early? What are you? 3? 4?"

"I'm three and a half!" he said proudly, puffing out his chest slightly.

There was a lull in conversation when Annie got up to serve them dessert. Effie had volunteered to help, if only to escape from having to be at the same table with only Haymitch for company since Fin had scampered off to his room.

"No, no, Effie. I can manage!"

Effie sat back daintily and folded her hands on the table in front of her. Haymitch's eyes were inadvertently drawn to her fingers, searching for the diamond ring. Her fingers were free of any jewellery adorning it and his eyes flickered back up to her face. He raised an eyebrow in question as Effie hastily drew her hand back and rested it on her lap out of his sight.

"Diamond too heavy for your nimble finger, little dove?" he smirked at her.

Effie shifted in her seat uncomfortably before forcing her eyes back up to meet his.

"None of your concern," Effie replied.

Haymitch chuckled derisively but any comment he was about to make died on his lips when Annie walked in with dessert.

XxX

No matter where he was, despite the change in scenery, Haymitch still found it difficult to sleep at night. Instead of spending the night tossing and turning in bed, he decided to take his drinking out to Annie's front porch and enjoy whatever night view District Four has to offer. With a bottle of whiskey in his hand, he quietly made his way out.

The cold sea breeze whipped his hair and he closed his eyes briefly as get his body used to the environment. Haymitch stopped in his tracks when he saw Effie sitting on the recliner with a blanket thrown over her. Her eyes were fixated somewhere in the distance, unaware of his presence. Craning his neck around, he realised that she was watching the waves crashing against the shore in stony silence.

He turned to leave but when the clouds parted and the pale moon light shone through the gaps, he saw something glistening on Effie's cheeks. She was crying, he realised.

Embarrassed that he had intruded on what was meant to be a private moment, Haymitch cleared his throat loudly with the full intention of alerting her to his presence. He would have left as quietly as he came but something stopped him from leaving. It didn't feel right to leave her alone when she was clearly upset. No matter how angry he was with her, he felt an obligation to at least stay. If she asked him to leave then he would.

Effie sat up hastily when she heard him causing the blanket to fall down to her lap. Haymitch gulped and resisted the urge to right the strap of her dark blue camisole that had fallen off her shoulder. _Focus – don't think of her night wear._

He looked away as she tried to wipe her tears discreetly.

"Haymitch," she greeted, turning her face slightly away from him from. She felt mortified and her cheeks burnt with embarrassment.

"Effie," he mumbled uncomfortably. Shuffling towards the bannister, he leaned on it and drank from his bottle. Haymitch was at a loss as to what he should do. He didn't do well with crying women. _I should just leave._

However, despite his strong instinct to leave before he got into any sort of trouble, he stayed firmly where he was. Truth be told, Haymitch was actually very curious to know why Effie was crying even though he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know the reason behind it. So he did what he did best – make a jibe.

"Don't tell me you missed him so much you're sitting out here alone in the dark, crying," he drawled, taking a drink from his bottle.

She sighed and pulled the blanket up to her chin as she reclined back in her seat.

"Why'd you come to Four if you're only going to miss that idiot? Why isn't he here anyway? Not that I want him here or anything. Make no mistake, finding out you're here was bad enough, I can't imagine how I would survive with both of you."

"Why do you hate Marcus so much?" she ignored his question and asked her own.

He paused and exhaled slowly. "Yeah, well… I asked first, didn't I?"

"Why can't things ever be simple with you, Haymitch? Why can't you simply just ask – "Effie, why are you crying?" – since you're clearly fishing around to know the reason."

"Ah, that's funny because we're actually in a fishing industry – never mind. You know what, Trinket? I don't actually care why you're crying. What I want to know is how long do you plan on being out here? Because I want that," he jerked his head towards the recliner Effie was sitting on.

In response to that, all she did was stood up, wrapped the blanket around herself and leaned against the bannister next to Haymitch.

"All yours," she mumbled.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked but made no move to occupy the now vacant recliner. "I thought you would have put up more of a fight."

After a while, Haymitch realised that Effie was never going to dignify his question with an answer. He sucked his bottle and let the silence stretched between them. For a long while, the only sound was the waves lapping gently on the shore.

"Do you know how to swim, Haymitch?" she asked softly.

"Yes."

"I don't. I wonder what it's like."

He turned his head sideways to look at her and regarded Effie quietly.

"Did you scream and jump?" he queried out of nowhere; a ploy to distract her from whatever it was that was making her upset.

Effie looked up at him in confusion, her eyebrows furrowed together.

"My gift."

The effect his question had on Effie's demeanour was instantaneous. She suddenly stood up straighter and her expression changed as she scowled in irritation. Her nose twitched - a sign Haymitch had long recognised as her being displeased and was trying not to be vocal about it.

"I don't even want to talk about the inappropriateness of your gift."

"But _did_ you scream and jump?" he reiterated his previous question.

"Yes," she hissed out the answer if only to shut him up.

Haymitch burst into laughter. "I shall thank Prim when I get back home."

"What… What do you mean?"

"She gave me the idea. Screamed her lungs out when a toad jumped out of the pond back home."

Despite her annoyance, Effie smiled at the mental image of Katniss' daughter screaming so very similar to how she and Marcus must have screamt just days ago.

"At least she didn't faint," she smiled, recalling the memory of Marcus out cold on the floor.

"Faint? You fainted?"

"No," she shook her head. "Marcus did."

That did it. Haymitch doubled over and gave a raucous laugh of amusement.

"Shush, isn't Finian asleep?"

He nodded and clamped a hand over his mouth, desperately trying to stifle his laughter but each time he looked at Effie he only laughed harder.

"So Prim was the one who set off the chain of events," she mused to herself.

"What chain of events?" he inquired curiously.

Effie waved her hand dismissively and pulled the blanket tighter around her. "Nothing important. Goodnight, Haymitch."

Haymitch narrowed his eyes at the abrupt end to their conversation. He knew her enough to realise that whatever it was, it was not merely unimportant but let it slide knowing it was not his place to intrude into her life.

He woke up the next day to Fin jumping on his bed and asking if it was alright for them to go down to the beach later that day. He soon found out, when he finally managed to calm Fin down enough for them to make their way down to breakfast, that Effie was already gone.

"She left early this morning. I thought she would have told you yesterday."

He tried to hide his surprise and shrugged nonchalantly in response. It doesn't matter where she was. It was her business and none of his concern.

"Nah, she didn't."

XxX

Haymitch returned home three days later and with no committee meetings each month as a marker which also served as a break to his monotonous life, the days of the week held no significance to him. Each day began to blend into the next and if it wasn't for the rising and setting of the sun, Haymitch wouldn't be able to discern when a new day ended and the next began.

On most days, he would be at home passed out in various positions at odd places all over his house. Once, he woke up in the basement with no recollection of how he actually got there or his near suffocation when he fall face first into the mud at his backyard. Peeta and Katniss had taken their daughter to visit Gale at District Two - they were the ones who usually kept a look out for Haymitch to make sure he was safely at home each night - but they were not around at the moment and he was left to fend for himself.

If they questioned his increased intake of alcohol, they never brought it up with him but Haymitch had told them about Effie, a few nights ago. He told them about him crashing her car when he learnt to drive, the gifts they sent to each other and the pink nails that Peeta saw before. To his embarrassment, Peeta laughed loudly when he finally understood the reason behind Haymitch's painted nails. He told them about the itching powder, Effie's heels and the frogs but he left every other information out.

"So you and Effie… Not speaking, huh?"

"Not sure what's going on actually," he mumbled, a hand resting on his forehead.

"Okay, so am I to understand that that both of you have taken these whole annoying-each-other-games too far and you're both … fighting?" Katniss asked incredulously.

"It's not a game! It's a… more like… Yeah, taken it too far, like you put it."

He would never admit it to anyone but he missed Effie dearly. When he closed his eyes, the image of the last time he saw her swam before him. _Why was she crying?_ There really was no explanation why it haunted him so much. It killed him not knowing and he was very close to picking up the phone to ask her straight out even if it didn't seem at all like him.

Spending most of his time at the bar meant that he picked up conversation whether he wanted to or not. It would seem that his replacement whose name he really could not remember now was getting along quite well with Effie. There were talks that Effie was scheduled for another visit to District Twelve to follow-up on the progress of her previous report with the newly appointed Mayor.

He tried to not to let it affect him too much but his heart did skip a beat at the possibility of her in Twelve. Questions began to run rampant in his mind. The most important of which was whether Effie would be required to once again take up residence in his house.

_No, probably not. I'm no longer in the committee. She'd probably stay with what's-her-name?_

He played out the scenarios in his head as he walked home, the ever present bottle of liquor held between two fingers. Haymitch swayed on his feet and gave a drunken murmured apology to the woman he collided into. The weather was warm and he pulled on his shirt collar uncomfortably. His shirt was already sticking to his skin and it made him even more irritated.

Throwing his now empty bottle of vodka on the floor, Haymitch tugged his shirt out of his pants and threw it on the back of his sofa. He climbed the stairs up to his room all the while gripping the bannister tightly and hauling himself up. The steps seemed to float before his eyes and he blinked rapidly to clear his vision.

Slowly, he finally made his way to the bathroom and climbed into his bath tub before climbing out again to retrieve a new bottle of liquor. He was struggling to uncork the bottle and climbing back into his shower in his drunken state when he slipped. His head snapped back as it collided into the edge of the ceramic tub.

After the initial shock had passed, he managed to drag himself up and leaned against the tiled walls. He began chuckling at his own clumsiness, looking for all the world like an insane man. Using the back of his palm, he pushed his hair away from his face and that was when he felt warm liquid on his hands. The alcohol had numbed the pain so he couldn't really comprehend why there was blood steadily dripping down the bathroom floor.

Haymitch remained seated where he was, the blood already covering half his face and he tried to command his legs which was stretched out before him but it was useless. He was too drunk to move and strangely, the bathroom was growing darker. His vision dimmed and Haymitch blacked out before he could get help.

* * *

Two chapters within a week! To celebrate and thank you guys for all your reviews and support so far and to distract myself from my grandmother's recent death on 1st January. So, I hope you found that chapter enjoyable! :)

Please leave a review, they're much love.


	20. Chapter 20

Thank you everyone for all your lovely and wonderful reviews :)

Disclaimer: Not mineee!

* * *

Chapter 20

To say she was surprised to see Haymitch at District Four would be an understatement. She had no idea he would be coming and Annie had not informed her either, though it wasn't Annie's fault at all.

After Marcus had called off their engagement, Effie had gone home and had not left her house for days. For the first time in a long while, she felt truly and utterly alone. She had always had Haymitch even if he wasn't the ideal person to go to for comfort but the simple knowledge that she _could _go to him, that there was someone she could rely on, made everything slightly easier if not manageable.

She woke up one day to the realisation that contrary to her belief, she was not alone. There was Annie and her son in Four. The last time she had seen Finian was during his first birthday party that Annie had thrown and Effie had thought a visit was long overdue. Effie could've done with a change in scenery; to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Capitol for a while and simply just relax.

Effie had only called to inform Annie about her visit that morning when she was already on the train en route to District Four. She had not really planned on staying with Annie as she didn't want to impose. There were after all lodgings and resorts in District Four nowadays that she could stay in. But Annie had insisted and Effie had relented without much of a fight knowing that at the end of the day, the reason why she came to visit Annie and her son was because she didn't really want to be alone.

When Haymitch had pointed out the non-existent engagement ring during dinner, she wasn't sure why she hadn't simply told him the truth. And again, when the opportunity presented itself while they were both out at the front porch, she had once again held the truth from him. She supposed the reason why she had hesitated was that she was afraid Haymitch might tease and laugh at her. It seemed like something he would do and the wounds were still too fresh for her to bear his jest without getting too affected by his taunts.

She was also ashamed of herself. The last encounter she had with Haymitch was still fresh in her mind. Effie spent the entire dinner tensed up and afraid that Haymitch would bring up the incident at the hotel room or the aftermath when she confronted him about Anna. To his credit and much to her surprise, he had not once brought the subject up. But she couldn't face him any longer. She came to District Four to try and forget everything and relax but with Haymitch around it wasn't an easy task to accomplish. Each time she looked at him, she remembered what Marcus had told her. How could he know that it was Haymitch all along when she herself had not had that figured out?

XxX

The loud clanking sound of a bottle of wine against Effie's glass table as she set it down caused her to wince involuntarily. Picking up her glass, she swirled her wine around and flipped open the month's edition of a fashion magazine.

_"Most women focus too much on the perfect dress that they fail to give as much attention as they should…"_

Attention.

Marcus had said something about Haymitch always having her attention and Effie stared at the magazine, not really reading the words on the paper any longer as her mind tried to come to terms with Marcus's observation.

It must have developed from years of practice she was sure, from all those years that they had worked together. She could be talking to a sponsor and still managing to keep an eye out for Haymitch in case he ever got into trouble. Each time, half of her attention was focused on making sure he was okay. Effie was certain that was what Marcus meant and nothing more.

_But you met Marcus after the Rebellion. He couldn't possibly know._

Effie sighed and gave up all pretence of reading the open magazine in her lap. While at District Four, before Haymitch's arrival, Effie had reconciled with the truth that she had settled for Marcus. But she wasn't quite so certain about the rest of what Marcus had said.

_Haymitch and I – we complete each other? Such a ridiculous thought._

Marcus had told her that she had settled because she had never believed that Haymitch would want her but that would imply that _she_ wanted him. Was he whom she really wanted? In her teenage years, she had fantasized about being with a man from a District but that was the lure of the unattainable. They were so different and she found herself attracted to them. She had no idea that that desire had carried on unconsciously to her adult life.

Haymitch was not unattractive. He was a handsome young man when he won the Second Quarter Quell and Effie would be lying if she said that he was not what she had always imagined a guy should be. Despite his alcoholism, Effie thought he aged well. He might have had a slight pouch to his belly now but really, it was his eyes that had always attracted her. Effie had seen him naked and there was really nothing about him that she would complain about. Physically, of course. There were a lot of things she could complain about where his attitudes and manners were concerned.

Throwing her head back against her sofa, Effie exhaled in frustration. _Maybe I do want him_. That of course led the whole issue back to what Marcus had said about her belief that Haymitch would never want her.

The image of Anna floated before her eyes and before she realised what she was doing, Effie was standing in front of her full length mirror. She stared at herself and began to unconsciously compare herself to the red-haired woman. Anna was pretty and being from a district, she was naturally beautiful without having the need to cover it up with make-up or surgical alterations. Ever since the Rebellion, Effie had only dusted on light layers of make-up. Gone were her wigs as well. She looked acceptable but not what she would consider a classic beauty. Effie touched her shoulder length blonde hair and turned around to inspect her back.

How was she even supposed to compete with Anna? Haymitch had never mentioned that receptionist before and Effie never knew the depth of the relationship but now she was curious. Was it a simple fling or was there more to them than she knew?

Disheartened, Effie sat on the edge of her bed and wrung her hands together. Of course Haymitch would be better off with Anna. She was from a District and they would have an understanding that Effie could never hope to have. He would never choose her, a Capitol girl whom he claimed was so uptight and whom he had to constantly remind to let go and learn to just live a little.

By the time Effie crawled under her covers that night, she had made up her mind to pay Anna a visit the next day under the pretext of discussing accommodations for the representatives. At the same time, maybe she could ask Anna about Haymitch, do a little digging and find out more about them.

_Good grief, Effie. Are you even listening to yourself? You're acting like a maniac._

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to ignore that nagging voice at the back of her mind.

XxX

It was that time of the year again in the Capitol when the sun showed no mercy to anyone, forcing most people to stay at home. Effie would have done the same with a glass of ice tea to go with but alas, she had promised herself that she would pay Anna a visit and she would not find a peace of mind unless she completed her task.

As she hurried down the street with her bright yellow umbrella protecting her, she bumped into Plutarch Heavensbee.

"Plutarch, what are you doing in the Capitol?" the surprise was evident in her voice.

"Oh, just some paperwork I needed President Paylor to look through before next month's meeting. And, where are you hurrying to, my pretty?"

She blushed. Like her, Plutarch gave compliments freely; it seemed to be a Capitol-born behaviour to not hold back on the praise.

"Just out running some errands," she replied.

"Terrible day to run errands," he commented as he wiped the perspiration off his forehead with a pocket handkerchief. "Will you be visiting Haymitch in Twelve, by any chance?"

"Visit Haymitch? I have no reason to visit that man. Is he throwing some sort of party or anything?" she laughed. "I didn't get any invitations."

"You don't know? He had quite a fall. Knocked his head pretty badly – blood all over the bathroom floor from what Peeta told me."

She felt the wind knocked out of her and for those few seconds, the world melted into the background as she tried to focus on her own breathing.

"What happened? How did he fall? When was this?"

"It must have happened late yesterday night because Peeta walked in on him unconscious early this morning. Good thing Katniss and him decided to return to Twelve early or nobody knows what would happen. He said he tried calling you but your phone was disconnected."

Effie could have slapped herself. Before she left for District Four, she pulled out the telephone cord from the wall socket and with all the confusion about Haymitch and Marcus, it must have slipped her mind to connect it back.

"I didn't – oh dear, thank you for telling me, Plutarch. I have to go! Thank you!"

XxX

When she finally alighted from the train, Effie kicked off her heels and all but ran to Victor's Village. Despite how fast the train travelled, it still took a whole day for her to reach District Twelve.

Both the two houses were dark and despite the many knocks, nobody answered. Effie began to panic and was at a loss as to what to do. Fortunately for her, a man happened to pass by and informed her that they were at the hospital.

"Thank you, sir! Thank you so much!"

During her brief stay at Twelve to commission the report for President Paylor, Effie had visited the hospital accompanied by Haymitch and she vaguely remembered where it was. It still took her quite a while to reach her destination and that was after asking around multiple times.

Effie was severely out of breath by the time she entered the correct hallway to Haymitch's ward. From afar, she saw Peeta and Katniss talking to a doctor and as she approached them, the doctor patted Peeta's shoulder and left the two alone.

"Peeta! Katniss! I came as soon as I heard. Is he alright? What happened? How did he fall, how _could_ he fall? What did the doctor say? He will be alright, won't he?" she asked frantically, the words gushing out of her a mile a minute, her hands gesturing about wildly.

In her panic stricken state Effie missed the lingering gaze of Peeta on her flying hands or the look Katniss and Peeta exchanged with each other.

"Effie… Effie, maybe you should sit down," Peeta said, gesturing towards one of the many empty seats.

She shook her head. "No, no it's quite alright, Peeta dear. Which one is his room? Can I see him?"

Peeta cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked at Katniss who nodded at him encouragingly. "Effie… Haymitch … Well, he – he didn't make it."

* * *

I'm sorry to disappoint! Effie didn't save Haymitch. I already wrote this chapter when I published chapter 19! & I thought it would not be possible in any case, seeing as how she has to travel from the Capitol to District Twelve and it would have taken far too much time.

I do love some reviews :)


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Not mine!

A/N: This chapter has been sitting on my hard disk for a week and it was supposed to be uploaded next week but I think now seems appropriate.

* * *

Chapter 21

"Excuse me?" her shrill voice rang sharply across the hallway.

"Uh…"

"What do you mean, Peeta!" she demanded crossly.

"Peeta meant what he said, Effie," Katniss said and wrapped an arm around Effie's shoulder. It was meant to be a comforting gesture but Effie felt none of it.

Her stomach churned and Effie's mind began to focus on the singular fact that Haymitch had not made it. "You mean… He's … He's dead?"

They nodded mutely.

"No, no," Effie laughed harshly, the hollow sound sent a shiver down Peeta's spine.

"There must be a mistake. No, Katniss. Haymitch is stubborn, he won't just… He can't! He's a Victor; they're supposed to live!" she added.

She realised of course, how petulant she sounded. Victors were humans too, and death was something that would claim them all eventually. Effie sat heavily on the chair and covered her face with her hands.

For a moment, she kept shaking her head, mumbling incoherently.

"I've never told him."

Peeta looked up at Katniss the moment Effie uttered those words. Katniss had caught it too because she was desperately trying to hide a smile creeping up on her face.

"Told him what?" he inquired at the same time that Katniss asked if she would like to see Haymitch.

Effie stood up shakily and with the younger dark-haired girl guiding her by the elbow, she opened the door to Haymitch's hospital room. The door closed behind her and Effie was left alone in the sterile white room looking at Haymitch's supine form lying still on the bed, a thick white blanket covered him up to his chest. The silence was almost deafening.

His head was wrapped in thick bandages but Effie could still see a blotched of red staining the white cloth. His eyes were closed and he looked so peaceful, more at peace than she could ever recall him being at.

The tears were making her vision blurry and she blinked them away desperately as she moved closer to his bed. Effie sat on the only chair next to him with her forehead resting on the mattress. Her shoulders shook as she cried, the tears falling hot and fast down her cheeks. Effie cried so hard that hiccups soon wracked her body.

One of her arms was thrown across Haymitch's stomach, the other clutching his hand lying on top of the blanket tightly. Had she not let emotions rule her and paid closer attention to her surroundings, Effie would have realised something important.

As it was, her thoughts were a jumbled mess and nothing made any sense to her at that moment. All she cared about was Haymitch lying motionless in front of her. In that moment, it all became clear to Effie, something akin to a miraculous enlightenment enveloped her soul. Marcus had not been lying – it had always been Haymitch. For her, no one would ever be able to measure up to Haymitch. All his flaws and imperfections, the way he teased her and drove her mad with anger. Nobody else could be that way except him.

They had spent far too many years with each other that they had slowly became a part of each other's life without them even realising. Effie had not only learnt to tolerate Haymitch, she had long ago accepted that it was normal behaviour the way he acted around her. So much so that when she spent her time with any other man, particularly Marcus, it made her feel at odds to be treated so nicely, to not have to constantly remind Marcus about manners or his drinking habit. Marcus was too perfect and too proper and she did not want her men perfect.

Effie realised that if he just opened his eyes, if she was given another chance, she would be content with how they were all these while because that was how they had always been and she never wanted things to change. It was always her and Haymitch.

"Please wake up, Haymitch. Please don't leave me."

The white bed linen was doing a good job of soaking her tears up and she pulled his body tighter almost in desperation. Effie was frightened. She had never before imagined a world where Haymitch was dead. _What am I supposed to do?_

Even when they were not on talking terms, she knew at the back of her mind, he was still at District Twelve but now…

"I don't have a family and you're … you're like a family to me. I'm so sorry for everything! Oh god, I take back all those terrible things I said to you on the phone. I'm sorry about the itching powder. I forgive you for the frogs and my car, and I even forgive you for my heels. I'll give up all my heels if I could see you and talk to you for one more day," she hiccupped and took a deep breath.

"I never had the chance to tell you and I'm too late, now. Please. Oh god, I was so stupid!"

The poor woman was so distraught she failed to register the low rumbling of Haymitch's chest or the way his body shook silently as though the dead Haymitch was trying to quietly suppress his laughter.

"Yes, you are. Why the hell are you crying as if I'm dead, Trinket?" questioned a raspy voice.

Effie stilled at the sound of the familiar deep voice. Slowly, she forced herself to look up. Haymitch was looking at her with an unreadable expression on his face, a ghost of a smile still lingered on his face, his eyes twinkling mischievously with a hint of curiosity reflecting on his irises.

"Haymitch?"

"Nope – his twin," he mocked her, wetting his parched lips at the same time.

"Haymitch?"

He rolled his eyes at Effie. "Yes, little dove, it's me – the bane of your existence, Haymitch Abernathy."

"But–" She glanced back at the close door uncertainly and frowned at the now equally confused man on the bed. "- why are you alive?"

"That's not very courteous," he smirked at her, the confusion evaporating to be replaced by his usual smug expression. Haymitch winced in pain as he tried to push himself off the bed, "Help me out, Trinket."

Quickly, she helped him into a sitting position and offered him a glass of water which he accepted gratefully.

Her hand curled around his wrist and pushed the hospital tag away, feeling for his pulse. Haymitch jerked his hand back in surprise.

"What are you doing?" he snarled. It would have the intended effect of frightening Effie if his voice had not sounded so weak.

"I'm just trying to check," she said and her hand went straight to his neck this time. He batted her hand away.

"What are you trying to check, you insane woman?"

"Your pulse, of course," she replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm alive, Effie! I'm talking to you, aren't I?" he said harshly.

Her lips wobbled and she bit on it hard to stop herself from breaking down into fresh tears, her emotions were still vulnerable after all the fright. He gave a sigh and held out his hand to her. "Go on and check if it gives you peace of mind."

She smiled but ignored his hand and pressed her ear where his heart was, feeling it beating steadily. She felt Haymitch tense at her proximity and his heartbeat increased rapidly.

"How much did you hear?" she asked softly, still half lying on Haymitch.

"Enough."

"All of it?"

"Most of it," his voice came out in a whisper. Effie was aware of his hand softly stroking her hair and she closed her eyes, savouring his tender gesture which did not come often.

Opening her eyes, Effie took a deep breath and straightened up. "Still alive," she announced the smile lighting up her eyes.

"You don't say?"

Effie blushed and tried to distract herself by smoothing out his blanket and then tucking him in. He growled in displeasure at being coddled by Effie.

"Who told you I was dead?" he asked, swatting off her hand that was trying to brush his hair out of his face.

Effie's hand stilled at that question and her eyes narrowed a fraction. _Those two! _"Katniss and Peeta."

He broke into laughter but stopped almost immediately, clutching his injured head. "You do realise that they've pulled a prank on you?"

"Yes, Haymitch, I realise that now," she answered testily. "Were you in on it? Was this your idea because I wouldn't put it past –"

He shook his head. "I would very much like to say yes, but I just woke up from my sleep to find a frantic woman clutching and sobbing horridly. Terrible bedside manners, little dove."

She flushed in embarrassment and slapped his arm lightly. Her heart sang and Effie felt the warmth spreading through her. She missed him calling her by that name. _Little dove. _It made her feel special and exclusive.

"I told them about … You know… What we do to each other," he ventured to speak, trying to explain why Katniss and Peeta had probably did what they did.

She nodded. Her eyes kept flicking to the door and the redness of her cheek from the embarrassment of crying hopelessly over Haymitch earlier on was apparent. She felt slightly grateful that she had not poured out any soul-deep confessions before he woke up and eventually put a stop to her snivelling. Effie felt so foolish and now that she knew Haymitch was alive and relatively well, she wanted nothing more than to leave the hospital room.

"I should go. You should rest," she started.

He shrugged in response. "I've been resting for days. You came to Twelve alone or am I supposed to prepare myself for the company of your beloved fiancé?"

"I came alone."

He gave an exaggerated sigh of relief and Effie glared at him. He started chuckling all of a sudden and shook his head disbelievingly.

"I can't believe – are you seriously that ignorant? Can't you tell the difference between a living person and a corpse?"

"I couldn't think straight, Haymitch! I was distraught and upset!"

"Oh, were you? And why's that?" he asked cocking his head to the side and waited.

"If you're just going to continue laughing at me, I'm going to leave," said Effie who was quick to change the subject. "You seem to be coping well with your injuries anyway – which reminds me, how _did_ you fall?"

"No idea. Was drunk - tried to take a shower and must have slipped. Are you going back to the Capitol?"

He looked at her expectantly and waited for an answer. Effie wondered if Haymitch would ask her to stay for a while longer while he was hospitalised but quickly dismissed the idea. Even if he wanted her to stay around, Haymitch would never ask. She knew him enough to know that.

"Not today. Maybe in two or three days' time."

Haymitch's demeanour seemed to relax slightly and she knew that she had made the right decision.

"I really have to go this time. I'll visit you again tomorrow but I have to go now. I need to buy new clothes because I did not have the time to pack! Can you believe it? This is all your fault. Ahh, I need to talk to Katniss and Peeta, too - about that horrible lie they told me and then find a place to stay. I wonder if the bed and breakfast place is ready and open for business?"

With the relief she felt knowing that Haymitch's injuries were not life threatening, Effie reverted back to her old self – speaking at the speed of a Capitol train and listing out her plans, even though nobody was even remotely interested.

"My spare house key is taped under one of the parapets, two windows to the left of the door," he said suddenly.

"I'm sorry?"

"You can stay over at my house, Trinket, as long as you bring me some alcohol tomorrow."

"Thank you, Haymitch! You're so very kind but I'm afraid I cannot smuggle in alcohol to a patient. It is simply unheard –"

"Get out, Effie, before I change my mind."

A wide grin spread across her face and with a chipper, "I'll see you tomorrow," she closed his door.

XxX

The first place Effie went to was the Seam and there, she bought herself some clothes and other necessities; enough to last her a week in District Twelve. With two bags filled with her new purchases – she had convinced herself that she was contributing to the recovering economy with her shopping – Effie made her way to Victor's Village.

A few steps inside his house, Effie stopped momentarily and inhaled the familiar smell of Haymitch's house. It had the smell of vapours from his many spirits mingling with the fresh air outside, the faint lavender fragrance diffuser Effie had placed on his house when she had stayed over and the ever present smell of dirty dishes, he had never bothered to wash unless someone cleaned it for him. The familiar warm feeling that greeted her felt strangely like home.

Realising what she just thought of, Effie shook her head to quickly get rid of that notion. She deposited her purchases in the same room she had occupied for weeks earlier noting that nothing in that room had been touched. The plastic flowers she had bought at the Seam still stood in the vase on the window sill.

_One other thing to take care of,_ she thought to herself.

"Hello Katniss and Peeta," she greeted them as Katniss let her in. Dramatically, she dabbed her eyes with her pocket handkerchief. "Should we start with the funeral preparations for Haymitch?"

"Effie…"

"I have several contacts at the Capitol and they could help, of course."

"Effie, what are you –"

"I supposed a lot of people would want to attend. After all he was –"

"Effie!" Katniss snapped at her. "He's not dead."

"Oh, I know," she said silkily, a sly smile playing on her lips. "How dare you! Both of you! You gave me such a fright!"

Katniss heaved a sigh of relief and sat on the chair heavily. "For a moment there, I really thought… you know, that you really believed Haymitch was dead."

Peeta had enveloped Effie in his arms, rubbing her back and laughing lightly. "We're sorry, Effie. We don't mean any harm. We just thought that you needed a push in the right direction."

"A push?" she asked, her eyebrows crinkling.

"Yes. To make you realise your feelings for him."

Effie gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth.

"Oh, don't act too surprised, Effie. It was obvious to us once Haymitch told us what happened," Katniss rolled her eyes. Tactful as always.

"What exactly did Haymitch told you?"

"All those things you did to each other. Pranks?"

"They're not pranks!" she answered indignantly. "That is terribly childish. He did something to me and I gave his as good as I got in return. But it soon took a life of its own and …. "

"Blew up in your faces?" Katniss finished her sentence.

"Yes," she breathed out. "Was that all he said? Did he say anything else?"

"That was all. Is there something more that we should know?" Peeta inquired.

"No, no, absolutely not."

Effie had been afraid that Haymitch had told them about her walking in on him and Anna because now that she was calm, she realised that her behaviour was reminiscent of a raving lunatic lover and her own behaviour made her worried. If he had told them about that incident, he would have to follow up with the story of them kissing in her kitchen and all those other moments in District Twelve.

"We're really sorry, Effie. But when you met us at the hospital lobby, I noticed the lack of wedding ring and I'm sorry if I'm assuming too much, but no fiancé?"

Effie shook her head sadly, "No. No more Marcus but that's another story for another day. Go on, you have some explaining to do."

Peeta nodded, acquiescing to her request. "I was quite surprised when I found out you were engaged, you know? I was happy for you, of course but still surprised. And when you talked to me on the phone, you didn't sound at all thrilled and it clued me in that something was not right. It made sense when Haymitch told me the story. Why else would _you_ go out of your way to annoy the living daylight out of Haymitch if you had not enjoyed it? If it had not meant something to you?"

"How do you know if it meant anything, Peeta?"

"I don't. But you arrived at District Twelve so fast and I saw the look on your face when you met us at the hospital lobby," he paused and looked at Katniss briefly as though looking for support.

"I really don't know if it meant anything, Effie, so I tested it out today when I told you Haymitch didn't make it. And I guessed I was right," he smiled crookedly. "I have to thank Katniss for picking it up so quick and playing along."

That night, as she lay in bed, Effie kept replaying the events of the entire day in her head. It seemed nearly comical how everyone else around them could tell something about them that they themselves did not realise.

Effie had no idea how to proceed from where they were. But as she mulled her problems, she thought the first logical step was to tell him that she was no longer engaged and see how he reacted to that news.

_I'll tell him. I'll tell Haymitch how I feel once he gets better, _she promised herself before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Firstly, to Angelfish - have some virtual doughnuts for being suspicious about Haymitch's death! I think only you picked it up. So, good job! & you should get an account so I can communicate with you!

Secondly, to all the guest reviewers, thank you for your reviews! I don't recalled killing Haymitch or Effie in my other stories but anyway, I'm sorry if you are all mostly left disappointed with Chapter 20, regretted reading Live A Little, and quit reading after that chapter. I tried. But, thank you for reading it in the first place!

On another note, this plot twist has been mapped out since I began writing and I enjoyed writing it so much! So i hope you do too!Till next chapter, do tell me your thoughts!


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: Don't own Haymitch or Effie.**

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Chapter 22

"You didn't bring- No alcohol? Why?" Haymitch looked at her in disbelief.

"I told you already! You're a patient, I can't_ give_ you alcohol!"

"I let you stay at my house!" He said indignantly, clearly grasping at straws.

"Yes, and I'm very thankful for that. But that does not mean I will partake in your self-destruction."

Haymitch grumbled under his breath about ungrateful women and pulled on the edges of the bandages that were wrapped around his forehead.

"Leave it alone, Haymitch," she rebuked him, swatting his hand away.

"It's uncomfortable and itchy!"

She tutted in disapproval and rolled her eyes at how childish he sounded when he was unwell.

"Eff, could you do me a favour? Ask the doctor when I would be able to leave the hospital."

Effie made no move and remained seated on the chair, casually inspecting her nails.

"Please," he said finally, his voice strained.

"There - that wasn't so difficult, was it?"

Haymitch watched her retreating back before she disappeared down the hallway to have a word with the doctor.

He had long ago gave up all efforts of trying to understand Effie Trinket but her behaviour the day before was puzzling and he found himself curious to know why she was so affected by his supposed death. He smirked at the memory of her pleading for him not to leave her and that he was forgiven for all those things he did to her. He wondered if she still meant it now that she knew his death was a ruse.

A ruse - honestly, how could the kids put Effie through that? He would have a word with them when they came to visit and find out the reason himself.

His heart swelled slightly knowing that his presence actually meant something to someone and that Effie, of all people had not wanted him to leave. It led to a multitude of questions, of course. He cautiously allowed himself to consider the possibility that maybe Effie felt for him more than she let on and - _Don't even go there, don't even consider it_.

_She's engaged._

He reminded himself harshly of that important fact but recalled the absence of the diamond ring on her finger when he encountered her at District Four. When he had questioned her about it, she had been defensive and she _had_ arrived alone both in Four and now, in Twelve. It was possible, of course - given how Marcus had always carried himself with an air of self-importance - that he could simply be caught up with work or, the more plausible explanation was that Marcus had no desire to see Haymitch after the gift he bestowed on the pair. That thought made him undeniably satisfied.

A more sadistic side of him did entertain the thought that perhaps their engagement fell through but he quickly shoved that idea to the back of his mind. With the exception of the few times he angered her and when he shouted at her in the car after he found out about her engagement, Effie seemed happy all these while. The spark of life that was cruelly robbed from her when she was snatched by the Capitol seemed to have returned and he was glad of it. If Marcus was the reason why Effie was happy, who was he to disagree with it? He was in no position to make her happy with the kind of life he led - no career, no ambition to speak of, and no future.

He wanted to ask her about the missing diamond ring but it wasn't really his place. The underlying cause of their disagreement was her engagement and he wasn't about to ruin this moment of peace with his curiosity.

Effie would tell him if she deemed it appropriate, if not, well it wouldn't really affect his life as it was right now.

Her presence in District Twelve while unexpected was a welcome break from the monotonous routine of the hospital. Despite the promise he made to himself to stay away from Effie, for both their sakes, he was glad that she would be staying for a few more days. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea but he missed her terribly. He would probably regret it when she returned to the Capitol and was forced to go back to his life of solitude especially now that he wouldn't be seeing her once a month.

XxX

"I spoke to the doctor," she said as she entered his room.

"And?"

"You can leave in three days or so-"

"What?!" He interrupted her.

She held up his hand to silence him. "They're keeping you under observation and I thought it was a good idea, anyway."

"No, it's not. I have geese to look after."

"You're not fooling me, Haymitch. Those birds of yours are very much capable of taking care of themselves and Peeta's there; he'll take care of it."

What Haymitch wasn't aware was that he could be discharged that afternoon, if he wanted, but the doctors had suggested that it would be safer to keep him under observation and Effie had jumped at that. The longer he stayed at the hospital, the more reason she had for not leaving and going back to the Capitol. Effie had not figured out how best to tell him how she felt without scaring him off or having it blow up in her face.

"Effie?"

"Hmmm?"

Haymitch waited for her to look up from whatever old magazine she found by the front desk that had captured her interest.

"What kind of visitor visits a patient empty handed?" he asked, teasing her.

He watched as her eyes widened in realisation and a mortified look slowly settled over her features.

"Oh, dear. Where are my manners? I was in a rush. I had meant to stop by the town and get you a basket of fruits or something like that but – "

"Well, feel free to get me some whiskey. I'm not opposed to that idea."

Her eyes narrowed. "No, I'm not falling for that - anything but alcohol."

"Maybe some food," he replied, smiling charmingly up at her. With no alcohol in his system and the drugs given to him to control his withdrawal symptoms while he was hospitalised, Haymitch found himself with a slightly growing appetite. Besides, he did enjoy her cooking.

Haymitch soon discovered that Effie was willing to do almost anything for him – with the exception of acquiring the much needed liquor – and he made full use of it. He sent her out to run errands that weren't even important and waited patiently for her to realise what he was up to but she had not grumbled or complained so far. In any event, she was too polite and well-mannered to be complaining.

Effie was at the moment, on her way out to get him a copy of the day's newspaper. He couldn't remember the last time he even bothered picking up the papers to read but watching Effie running around trying to make him comfortable was tickling his fancy.

_There are perks to being confined to bed, _he chuckled in amusement.

If only he knew that Effie did more than just acquiesce to his demands while she was not by his side at the hospital, he would have put a stop to his antics sooner. But as it was, he had no idea and was in for a surprise.

* * *

**Okay, see you in Chapter 23 :)**


	23. Chapter 23

**Final chapter, everyone and a long chapter too!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters unless original**

* * *

Chapter 23

"What were you thinking?" he hissed.

"I wasn't – it was more like an impulse act," Peeta said, leaning back on his chair.

"An impulse act to tell her I was dead?!" His eyes glittered dangerously and Peeta pushed his chair further back from Haymitch's bed, trying to put some distance between them.

"Well… Yes," he stammered out. Judging from how Haymitch was now confronting him, it occurred to him that perhaps the whole plan had been a mistake. But he swore it was a good idea at that moment in time.

"Have you completely lost your mind, Peeta? I thought Katniss was the one who was impulsive, not you. You gave Effie a fright; that woman was in here bawling her eyes out!"

Haymitch watched as the misgiving, if slightly afraid look, slowly turned into a self-confident smirk that looked rather misplaced on the face that usually bore a sweet smile for everyone.

"Ah...Could this possibly be you caring about her, I wonder?"

"What?" Haymitch questioned, frowning at the insinuation that was ripe in Peeta's voice.

Peeta leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees and looked intently at Haymitch.

"You obviously care about her, so why all this skating around each other?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Here I thought _I _was the one on medication," Haymitch replied testily.

Peeta squashed the urge to roll his eyes at how stubborn Haymitch was. He began to wonder how the same person who recognised Peeta's feelings for Katniss during the 74th Games and exploited it failed to see that Effie clearly harboured the same feelings for him.

"You know, Greasy Sae said it's only a matter of time..," he paused to wait if Haymitch would ask him to elaborate. When it was clear that he wasn't going to, Peeta continued, "before you both end up together."

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. And why were you all discussing my affairs at the Seam? Haven't you got anything else to do – a family to take care of, maybe?"

Peeta shrugged. He stood up to leave but before he left, he gave a parting shot that chilled Haymitch to the bone. "There's nothing to stop you now, you know? Have you ever wondered where Marcus is?"

_So, their engagement fell through? Was my suspicion right?_

XxX

It came as a surprise to discover that his three days in the hospital passed by in a blink of an eye. When the doctor walked in, and after checking the clipboard attached at the foot of his bed, Haymitch was given the green bill of health and discharged home.

Effie was there when he was given the go ahead and was therefore instrumental in helping him pack his belongings and handling the paperwork involved. It was therefore with a huge measure of relief and a souvenir courtesy of a small scar that ran from his left eyebrow before disappearing into his hairline that Haymitch left the hospital that afternoon.

"Did you stock -,"

"Yes," she replied quickly, knowing that Haymitch's first concern would be whether there was alcohol for him to consume when he returned home.

The walk home was peaceful with District Twelve just beginning to snow lightly. Effie was slightly worried though she tried not to let it show. She clutched his hand, trying to guide him and support him in a subtle manner without him realizing. It wouldn't do anyone any good if he were to slip on the ice and ended up back at the hospital.

"Maybe we should have asked someone to drive you home," she spoke softly, knowing that there were a few people in Twelve with small trucks used to mainly ferry goods from one place to another. But she knew that if she were to ask nicely, they would be willingly to help out.

"My house isn't that far and I am very capable of walking home," he pointed out.

He began to pick up speed when he heard the distant sound of honking geese. Looping his hand over the fence surrounding his house, he unlocked the gate and immediately perked up. Something was inherently different and with a sweeping glance at his front yard, he turned towards Effie and narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

She didn't seem to notice the way he was looking at her and walked passed him to the door. Effie transferred the paper bag containing Haymitch's medication to the other hand and unlocked the front door. Behind her, Haymitch swore loudly.

"What the fuck?"

He stood by his doorway, mouth agape as he took in his surroundings. His walls looked polished and smooth and blue. It wasn't blue before, it was never blue. He went back out to his front yard and noticed beneath the slowly forming layer of snow how the grass had been mowed and the bushes neatly trimmed.

Entering his strangely squeaky clean house, he slowly looked around. He felt like a stranger in his own home. His letters were stacked neatly on the mantelpiece and the coffee table which was usually clustered with knickknacks was empty except for a small vase of some kind of white flowers. _Flowers! _His eyes began to locate the things that were usually lying carelessly around the coffee table. He couldn't find anything. How was he supposed to find any of the things he needed now?

_Meddlesome woman! Why can't she just leave those things the way they were? _

Haymitch found Effie in his kitchen and made an odd gurgling sound at the back of his throat when he saw the state of his kitchen. There was a bowl of fresh fruits on the kitchen counter which had been wiped clean, his stainless steel sink were gleaming and shiny and most importantly, there were no dirty dishes stacked in it. His pots and pans were clean and put away and he noted that Effie had even bought coffee and packets of tea bags. His kitchen looked like a proper kitchen.

He rounded the kitchen to where she was. Clutching both her arms, he shook her and asked, "What happened to my house?!"

"Isn't it beautiful?" she smiled at him, unfazed by his grip on her arms.

"What did you do?"

"I repainted it – well, not me, you know, but I got some help. They're very nice people, everyone here in Twelve. I hired some men to help me repaint your house. I cleaned it, too. I got bored and your house…it looks worse than a pigsty, so I thought I'd clean it since I haven't got anything else to do. Honestly, Haymitch, how could you even stand living in such a dirty environment? Oh no, don't you like the colour?"

"No. No – how could you… Why would you do that? I gave you the keys to my house and- fuck it, Trinket."

Haymitch took off. He climbed the steps two at a time and burst into his room. He could feel the beginning of a headache coming. True enough, his room had been repainted and it was almost unrecognisable. His room had never before been this clean and neat. His bed was made and it seemed that Effie had also purchased some new bed sheets for the bed.

_Who does she think she is - my mother?_

The knife he always slept with was on his dresser and Haymitch crossed the room to pick it up and grip it, relishing the familiar weight of the knife in his hand.

"I think I should be given credit for having good control over myself. I could have had them repaint your house pink, you know."

He turned around at the sound of her voice and found her leaning casually on his door frame, her eyes gleaming in amusement. He placed the knife back on the dresser. The longer he held on to it, the stronger was the urge to stab Effie for being so…Effie.

Haymitch sat on his bed and covered his face with his hands. "For the frogs, right?" He mumbled loud enough for Effie to catch.

The bed dipped from her added weight as she sat next to him. Effie was so close that their bodies were touching from their shoulder to their legs.

"Definitely for the frogs," she laughed lightly, patting his thigh.

"This will never end, Eff."

"I don't think it ever would. You refused to accept my truce once before and I can't imagine you agreeing to one now."

He didn't bother replying to what she just said. Instead, Haymitch looked at her and debated silently with himself. Peeta had told him that he had a chance and he wondered what Peeta meant.

_Should I ask her about the engagement?_

He doubted she would ever tell him on her own unless he coaxed the answer out of her. Haymitch looked down at her hand that was still resting on his thigh and curled his own around it, his thumb lightly grazing the place where her ring should have been.

"Where is Marcus?" he asked, finally.

Effie gave a nervous laugh, clearly not anticipating such a question. She tried to pull her hand out of his grasp.

"Really, Haymitch? Out of all the questions in the world, you settled for that? _That_ is some small talk," she commented.

He tilted his head to the side and repeated his question.

"He's not here, I told you already."

An eyebrow rose mockingly and Effie sighed.

"We… It wouldn't have worked. He broke it off," her voice said quietly.

Haymitch bit his lip. He was close to offering a heartfelt congratulation to their broken engagement but thought that it was more appropriate to offer his sympathy. The only problem was that it would be a lie. He wasn't sorry. Not one bit.

"Well, that's too bad. You just have to find someone willing to put up with you now, then," he teased her, a familiar behaviour he felt back on when things became too serious between them. "And I think I will continue tormenting you now that _he_ is out of the way and won't be pathetically attempting to threaten me about the way I treat his lady."

That got a laugh from her and he watched as her body shook.

"I _am_ right – you won't ever agree to a truce," her lips curled in a smile. "I need to think of ways to safe-proof my apartment. The things you could come up with are simply horrifying."

Haymitch chuckled before looking at her haughtily, tapping his index finger on his temple.

"But they're good stuff. Things you've never thought of."

Effie shook her head and it was a while later before she asked the question that had been bugging her. "I don't quite get it, Haymitch. Why stop because of Marcus - because he threatened you? I don't think you would have cared about such a thing and he wouldn't' – he wasn't really aware of -"

"Because he takes all the fun away," he answered her quickly before she continued talking without pausing to take a breath, an ability Haymitch still found rather odd.

"Liar," she said although there was no bite to it. "Don't tell me you didn't enjoy it when I told you he fainted because of those frogs you sent us?"

Haymitch raised both hands in mock defeat. "You caught me there, little dove. That was hilarious."

They sat silently beside each other before Effie stood up unexpectedly and started pacing the length of his room. She wrung her hands and gnawed her lips worriedly, shooting Haymitch furtive glances. He stared at her. Haymitch knew her well enough to know that something was bothering her and if she was not given a chance to express what was stirring in her, she would be a complete pain in his ass.

"What?" he snapped at her, pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off the headache that was settling at the back of his eyes. "Stop that. Sit down – you're giving me a headache."

"I want to tell you something," Effie said suddenly, looking nervous as she said it. Haymitch nodded his head to show her that he was listening.

There was a rather long pregnant pause before Effie started talking. Haymitch tapped his fingers against his thigh impatiently.

"I miss you, Haymitch," she admitted, biting her lips as her eyes flickered up to his. "I don't think you know that and it's… important that you do. I miss you and I was torn when you left the Capitol all angry with me and I just… I want us to be okay.

Effie paused and glanced up at him to see if he was paying attention. "I want us to be how we were before everything went wrong. I'm sorry about how I reacted about you and Anna. It was rude and… She's a lovely person and I still haven't apologised to her for what happened that day. She ran off covered in the bed sheets, you remember? Because I barged in and –"

"You're rambling," Haymitch interrupted her.

Effie took a deep breath when she realised he was right. "Right, of course. I'm just nervous."

"Nervous? It's just me, Effie. You've never had any problems bossing me around or nagging me all the time before."

"This is different! Anyway, where was I?" she frowned. Her voice then took on a serious tone and Haymitch consciously straightened up to prepare himself for the barrage of bad news he was sure was coming. "I want us to be friends again. Those things we did to each other, as infuriating as it was, it was the most fun I've ever had in a while and I don't want you angry with me. So please, tell me what's wrong? Was it because of me walking in on Anna and you?" Effie pleaded.

Haymitch nearly laughed; instead, he exhaled slowly in relief, his tensed muscles slowly relaxing once again.

"Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine now that Marcus is gone," he said before quickly clamping his mouth shut as though he had said something which he had not meant to.

Her head snapped up to look at him, frowning in confusion. She heard him and there was nothing that could be done about it. _Well, if she's smart, Effie would have understood what I meant without me actually having to say it, _Haymitch thought strategically_._ That would be splendid and definitely saved him a lot of trouble. He wasn't one for confessing his feelings, in any event.

Something good could actually come out of his blunder, so the horrified feeling slowly dissipated and his face took on a rather smug expression.

XxX

Effie stared at him with a contemplative look on her face. Haymitch wasn't aware of the sudden clarity and understanding that was settling over her. His countenance mirrored the same self-assured way he carried himself when he knew he had gotten his way and it reminded Effie of the time he was at her house just before he found out about her engagement. Right now, as Haymitch was looking at her, the events in Effie's kitchen were playing itself in her mind.

She recalled the horrified expression on his face when he saw her engagement ring. Effie remembered the flicker of foreign emotions she noticed before and which she had now identified as him trying to mask his hurt feelings. Her engagement had hurt him in ways he couldn't say and it made sense to her now.

"You were jealous of Marcus," she breathed out.

A muscle in his jaw twitched at the truth of Effie's statement. "I wasn't. You couldn't be more wrong," he denied weakly. "You're completely mad."

Effie frowned and tilted her head to the side as she mulled over his words. "So it's madness if I were to kiss you right now?" Effie asked boldly.

Haymitch blinked and licked his lips. _What did she say? Did I hear her correctly?_ He was still trying to figure out if his ears were playing tricks on him that he failed to respond to Effie's question and nearly missed out on what she said next.

"I'm going to take a chance. Since I'm already mad, I couldn't possibly be madder," she told him quietly.

She had no idea where she even got the courage but Effie stretched out and slowly pressed her lips to his, trying to gauge his reaction.

He inhaled sharply the moment he felt her soft lips on his. It was rare for Haymitch Abernathy to be stunned to the point where he was unable to even react and this was one of those times. It seemed too good to be true to know that Effie was no longer engaged and to be sitting on his bed with her kissing him all within the space of a few minutes.

If this was a dream, he would be extremely angry.

Haymitch felt her pulling back and his senses snapped. He didn't realise that he had not reacted at all and right now, he was giving her all the wrong signals. Judging from how red her face was, Effie had read the signs wrongly and thought that he probably wasn't interested in her.

His hand came up to rest against her cheek, stopping any further movements from her and when he spoke next, he felt her shiver and saw a wide grin spreading across her face.

"You would be mad, yes. But you've always been slightly crazy since I first met you and personally, I am not opposed to the idea of you kissing me."

And kiss him she did. Effie stretched out and hooked her arms around his neck. It occurred to him as his hand caressed the back of her head that Effie was no longer bound to anyone. It was just her and there were no Marcus to think about. It filled him with a strange sort of elation that she was here in his room, kissing him.

His thoughts came to an abrupt halt when he felt her tongue skimming his bottom lip. Haymitch's tongue darted out to meet hers, his fingers working deftly to release her hair from the neat chignon she had tied at the nape of her neck and when he pushed her back on his bed, her contented sigh filled his heart with an indescribable feeling.

XxX

The windows were closed and the curtains drawn when he woke up the next morning. Haymitch reached his hand out to the empty space beside him and sighed deeply. It was just as he feared, it was too good to be true and it wouldn't do to have any dreams of that sort anymore.

_I really need a drink,_ was the next thought that crossed his mind. He pushed himself off the bed and sat at the edge staring sleepily into nothing in particular. There was a glass of water and several pills labelled and arranged neatly on his bed side table and he frowned at the sight of it. He couldn't remember putting them there the night before.

Ignoring his medications, Haymitch ventured down and when he nearly reached the first floor landing, he stopped and looked around. His walls were still blue. That meant he had not dreamt that bit. His heart started racing as he considered the possibility that everything that followed the discovery of his blue walls could actually be true.

Laughter. He heard the sound of a familiar laugh coming from outside and crossing to the front door, he yanked it open.

There she was, Effie Trinket, a sight to behold. She was lying on the snow covered ground with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. Prim was on her knees beside her, picking up handful of snow and putting them on Effie's stomach. She patted the snow before putting more on Effie's body causing Effie to giggle as she watched Prim curiously.

"Are you trying to bury me, Prim?"

With her tongue stuck out in concentration, Prim nodded. Effie spluttered when Prim dumped a handful of snow on her face. The little girl squealed in delight and clapped her hands excitedly. Haymitch watched as Effie grabbed the girl by her waist and pulled her down with her to the ground, tickling the squirming child in her arms. They were both covered in snow and he briefly questioned if he was still dreaming.

Effie Trinket was not the sort of person to play in the snow or roll around on the ground with a child. No, Effie would have pursed her lips in displeasure and started a lecture on proper behaviour.

"What are you doing, Trinket?" he asked, unable to contain himself any longer.

She stopped what she was doing and turned to look at him. The confusion must have been rather evident on his face because Effie broke into laughter.

"What you've always told me to do – living," she said simply. "This is quite fun, why don't you put on some proper clothes and join us?"

He blinked and raised an eyebrow dubiously.

"I don't think so," he shook his head.

A snowball hit him somewhere on his right shoulder and the thin material of his shirt quickly soaked in the ice. Haymitch was caught completely off guard and threw Effie a dirty look when he saw her laughing hysterically with Prim in her lap sitting down on the snow.

"Never thought I'd say this, but you're no fun, Haymitch! Isn't that right, Prim?"

"Maybe teaching you to loosen up and have fun was a bad idea," Haymitch commented as he moved to where they were and shivered in the cold. He picked Prim off the ground and righted her on her feet.

"Go on inside the house, Prim. Aunt Effie will send you home soon," he informed the child.

Haymitch held out his hand which Effie grabbed, using it as a leverage to rise to her feet. She rubbed her gloved covered hands together to regain back some of the feelings and admired her handy work. Satisfied, she turned back to face Haymitch and slowly wound her arms around his neck.

He swallowed audibly. If she had her arms around his neck, smiling sweetly up at him then their talk yesterday wasn't a dream. It was as real as the blue walls of his house.

"Snow angel – checked", she spoke softly, her voice low, a finger tracing the scar on his forehead.

Haymitch rested his hands on her waist and smiled back at her, knowing full well the reference she just made. His words that he had said to her a long time ago echoed in his mind.

_"Live a little, Effie. You're always so uptight. I bet you've never played in the rain, or walked barefooted with the grass under your feet or lie down on fresh snow and made snow angels."_

"You know, little dove, if you hadn't insisted on teaching me some manners, we would never be here," he whispered against her ear as she leaned against his chest.

"No, I think if I hadn't insisted that you learn how to drive, then we wouldn't be here. We would have led our lives as it were," she clarified. "Speaking of which, when are you even planning to take your driving license?"

* * *

**And, here we are, finally. Look out for the epilogue!**

**In the meantime, out of curiousity, which one was your favourite prank? Do share :)**


	24. Chapter 24

Thank you for your reviews everyone and for satisfying my curiousity. From the reviews, I think Effie painting Haymitch's nails was the favourite. Personally, i like the itching powder!

**Anyway, the epilogue!**

* * *

Chapter 24

Epilogue

_A little while down the road…_

"Well, how about this dress, then?" Effie asked, holding a burgundy dress up for Haymitch to see.

"Okay," he spared a glance in Effie's direction and answered non-committedly. "Where're you going?"

An exasperated huff escaped her lips. Despite her telling him of the forthcoming event last week, he was asking her again, even after knowing of her famous dislike of repeating herself.

"Marcus's and Anna's 25th anniversary party will be next week," she reminded him.

"So…?"

"We're going," she answered simply as she hung up the outfit back in the wardrobe.

"Are we?"

Effie shot him a look and Haymitch chuckled. He leaned against the headboard and watched as Effie went over to the closet looking for the appropriate shoes to match her dress. Unlike Haymitch, Effie liked to pick her ensemble earlier whenever there were any special occasions to dress up for.

"How'd they end up with each other in the first place?" Haymitch questioned curiously out of the blue.

"Like any other story – they met, fell in love and got married," came her short reply. Effie tapped a finger on her lips as her eyes browsed through her shoe collections.

"Obviously," he drawled. "My question is how _did_ they meet?"

"Why are you so interested?" Effie frowned. "I don't know which shoe matches my dress!"

Haymitch ignored her distress call and shrugged his shoulder instead. "It seems too much of a coincidence – the whole Marcus-meeting-Anna situation. If I didn't know better, I would say it had Effie Trinket written all over it."

There was a pause in her movement as Effie's hand hovered over a pair of heels. She shook her head and laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous! It's all them. Although…," she paused and her eyes twinkled mischievously. "… I might have had a hand in setting them up."

"I knew it!" Haymitch exclaimed. "Meddlesome human being! Why would you set them up?"

Effie averted her gaze and blushed, a sight which made Haymitch insanely curious.

"Well?"

"Well... Marcus was alone after he broke off our engagement and as far as I know, Anna had no one either. It seemed perfect," she started.

"And?" Haymitch smirked, knowing that Effie had barely scratched the surface of her tale.

Effie threw her hand up in mock frustration.

"I didn't want Anna to pursue you! You might get distracted and you know…" she waved her hands and went back to perusing her shoes collection.

His eyes lit up at the news and Effie wondered if the smirk was going to become a permanent fixture on his face that night.

"You were jealous," he stated, complacently. "You were jealous of her. I knew it!"

Effie rolled her eyes at the smug tone in his voice.

"I've told you countless times, Effie. You're possessive of me," he teased. Upon Effie's refusal to rise to the bait, he snorted. "Cunning, though. I've got to give that to you."

"Thank you," she replied, throwing a grin in his direction before disappearing into the adjoining bathroom.

"Ohhh," he heard her coo. "Haymitch, did you get these for me?"

Effie peered out of the bathroom door, dangling a pair of heels on her fingers. A shoe box was tucked under her arm.

"You know it's from me. You've gotten a pair every month for the past – what? 27 years? Why do you still ask?"

"Just," she said, smiling. "These are perfect, thank you, darling. I think this one will go nicely with the dress I just showed you."

Effie kept the heels carefully back in the box that came with it and walked over to where Haymitch was already lying under the covers. She stooped down and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips.

She walked back to her closet, a joyful smile plastered on her face and carefully kept the new pair on the top shelf; another pair from Haymitch to add to her collection. Effie had never asked for those shoes but she figured it was his way of compensating for the heels he destroyed so many years ago, when they were intent on getting back at each other.

It meant a lot to Effie because it was an unspoken understanding of his acceptance of her. He understood that even if he had taken her out of the Capitol, there were still parts of her that he couldn't change – her love for shoes, for example.

Haymitch had his own way of telling her silently, through the things he did that he cared about her. Effie could count on her fingers the number of times Haymitch had actually spoken those words out loud. It didn't come often but when it did, it was usually because he was so overwhelmed that he had said it without fully realising.

Her favourite memory would always be the night she had given birth to their eldest son. He was in bed beside her at the hospital in District Twelve, cradling a baby in his arms, watching over Effie as she tried to sleep. He had kissed her forehead and told her so softly that for a moment, she thought she was hallucinating from the painkillers.

The most enjoyable bit about getting those shoes was the thrill of not knowing where she would find them. They would most often than not be in places Effie never expected them to be. It was always a good surprise to open the kitchen cabinet one morning and find a box of shoes in it. Effie didn't seem to mind when she couldn't find a pair for that month because she knew she would eventually find it sometime in the future. She had once went two months without successfully finding her routine box of shoes, but had managed to find three boxes in three different places consecutively on the third.

"It's triple the surprise," she told her daughter once.

Haymitch had groaned in disapproval when he found out that Hayden, his only daughter, who despite having his Seam grey eyes, had inherited her mother's love for shoes. As Hayden grew older, Effie had begun to share some of her shoes with her daughter and to Haymitch's surprise, had also generously given some away to Hayden and her friends, ensuring that there would always be enough space in her closet for new pairs of shoes.

Effie had long concluded that it was in his nature not to make things easy for her. She had complained, only on one occasion, when she discovered that Haymitch had placed the shoebox in the geese pen. She refused to get it and had sent her son to retrieve it for her while Haymitch laughed at her raucously.

Over the years, Effie noticed how the heels that he bought for her became shorter in height as they grew older together. When she had asked, he told her rather honestly, "You're not that young anymore, Effie. Six inch heels? I don't think so."

Effie had sulked the entire day at how insensitive he had been. _Honestly, he doesn't have to remind me I'm getting old!_, she furiously thought to herself as she combed through her hair and looked sadly at the strands of grey hairs.

XxX

With Haymitch finally agreeing to attend Marcus' and Anna's wedding anniversary, Effie could now focus her attention on the family lunch that weekend.

Their youngest son, who had only turned 20 a few months back was chattering excitedly over the phone about a piece of news he couldn't wait to share with his parents.

"I have some interesting news for you, Mum! I can't tell you now over the phone but just you wait for it! I'm really excited about it."

Their son's enthusiasm had been too infectious for Effie. It had reached a point where Haymitch could barely tolerate being in the same room as her as she relentlessly spent her time randomly guessing the news.

"I've had it with you, little dove, really. Is it possible for you to calm down? The children will be here in a few hours and you'll know by then," he pointed it out to her as he slipped off the bed that morning.

Ignoring his complaint, Effie pulled the covers back and continued sleeping. When she woke up next, it was Haymitch who was gently shaking her shoulders asking her to get out of bed.

"You've got two hours before they're here," he said, brushing the hair out of her face. Haymitch noticed how tired Effie had been lately, silently acknowledging the fact that age had finally caught up with Effie Trinket. It was about time that she slowed down.

"Oh, you're back."

Haymitch had left for town that morning claiming there was something he needed to get. "Just something for the kids," he said as he put his jacket on. Effie had no idea what he wanted to get since the children had told them not to prepare anything for their potluck lunch.

"Is everything ready? You haven't messed up the house, did you?" she asked.

"You have so little faith in me," he joked, pushing her lightly towards the bathroom. "I'll be on the porch with my bottle."

XxX

Effie was standing in front of the bathroom mirror with a towel wrapped around her having just finished showering when she realised that something was missing. She opened the cabinet and frantically searched for it, hoping against hope that it was there.

"It was here yesterday! I know I put it there," she mumbled. "Haymitch!"

"Haymitch," she called out again when there was no answer. She waited for a while before his footsteps could be heard approaching their room. The bathroom door opened and an irritated Haymitch poked his head in.

"What?" he asked.

"Where are they?"

"Where are what?"

"My upper set of denture, Haymitch!" she snapped, pointing to her mouth. Effie's upper gum were empty, displaying the missing teeth which was the reason she had dentures in the first place.

"How would I know?! You expect me to keep track of that thing?"

"No, I don't expect you to keep track of _that thing_ but it was here yesterday night!" she gestured towards the empty space beside the sink. Effie usually clean and soak her denture with an overnight solution in a glass which she placed by the sink. "And it's not here now."

Effie glared at him and he returned her glare with the same ferocity. "I'm detecting some tone of accusation in your voice, sweetheart."

"Oh good, if you've detected it. Give it up, Haymitch. I've lived with you long enough to know when you had your hands on something. You took my denture for reasons I cannot fathom, now return it to me."

Haymitch smiled, showing off his own set of teeth. "Not a chance," he said as he walked out of their room.

"You haven't changed one bit!" she shouted at him.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

XxX

"Please, Haymitch, they'll be here anytime soon! I can't look like this. What would _your_ grandchildren say?"

Haymitch shrugged, never taking his eyes off the road leading up to their house as they sat and waited by the front porch for the arrival of their children and grandchildren.

"They won't think of you any different. You'll still be that insane grandmother they've had the misfortune of having," he teased.

"I've looked everywhere! Where could you possibly have hidden it?" she asked desperately, knowing that Haymitch would never tell her.

Haymitch was spared from answering her when two cars drove into the driveway, honking as they do so because their eldest son knew it irritated Effie to no end.

Hugs and kisses were exchanged and a string of "I miss all of you," from Effie were rained down on their grandchildren. Haymitch clapped his sons warmly on their back and accepted a hug from his daughter and daughter in-law.

"You're talking really funny, grandma," one of them commented as they all settled down at the table for lunch.

Haymitch choked on his drink as he looked over at Effie who had turned red at the comment. She had been trying not to talk too much and only mumbled softly when being spoken to, too embarrassed to open her mouth. As a result, her words were not enunciated properly and Haymitch had gleefully asked her to repeat her words on multiple occasions.

"I can't really talk, I have ulcers," she lied.

Erasmus, their eldest son – Peeta and Katniss had joked that Haymitch had been too drunk when Effie picked out the names of all their children - was about to scoop a piece of chicken onto Effie's plate before Haymitch put a stop to it.

"You should give her more mashed potatoes. Your mother is on a soft diet. That reminds me…," Haymitch pushed his chair back to retrieve something from the kitchen counter. He placed it in front of Effie, smiling smugly as he did so.

"I bought you porridge from town earlier. Can't eat without teeth can you, little dove?" he whispered the last part so only Effie could hear.

Effie glared at the back of Haymitch's head as he sat down on the chair across his daughter.

"Aww, look at that. Ain't your grand-daddy the sweetest?" Hayden teased.

"That is a terrible misconception," Effie muttered.

XxX

Lunch went on with its usual boisterous affair. Effie had learnt to let go of her tight leash on manners and proper etiquette. She still demanded that her children behaved properly when they were outside but in the privacy of their own house, she was less stringent with them.

"Okay, okay everyone, pay attention to me!" cried Lucas, the youngest child in the family. His sea blue eyes twinkled with excitement and winked at his elder brother who had been holding court for the past ten minutes. "Nobody wants to listen to your boring job at the Capitol, Erasmus."

Haymitch leaned back with an arm slung over the back seat of Effie's chair. Effie had her hand on his thigh, squeezing it gently. "It's the news he wanted to tell," she smiled at him, showing off her upper gums.

Effie snapped her mouth shut when she noticed how Haymitch had looked at her comically, no doubt, finding joy at how ridiculous she look.

"…so Uncle Plutarch set up an internship at the office and it's all being arranged now. I'll be working with the committee soon, just like mum had. I'll have my own office before long!"

"And you said my job at the Capitol was boring?" Erasmus taunted, interrupting him.

"_Your _job is. My job isn't. Unlike you, I get to travel all over Panem," he brushed his blonde hair out of his face and smirked; the same smirk Effie had seen on Haymitch's face countless of time. "Oh, and another thing, Finian will be joining me! He'll be leaving the sea, finally, and we'll be going to the Capitol together."

"What about Prim?" Hayden asked curiously as she scooped Erasmus' daughter onto her lap.

"I don't know what that girl wants, seriously," he shrugged. He thought Prim and Finian should just get married but he kept it to himself. "You don't seem too happy, mum."

"No, of course, I am! I really am happy. It's just … I'll be seeing less of you, now," she said sadly, leaning her head on Haymitch's shoulder.

Erasmus fished something out of his pocket and slid an envelope to Effie across the table, hoping that it would cheer his mother. "Thought you might want to see this. I went to the old media office, east of the Capitol. Someone there happened to know you both and told me to pass them to you," he grinned.

There were moments when Effie had mistaken him for Haymitch. He had his father's dirty blonde hair; grey eyes that belied his real emotions, his father's physique when Haymitch was younger and his mannerism are so similar it was slightly disconcerting. It was like seeing Haymitch when Effie first met him as an Escort all those years ago.

Effie picked the envelope and slid out the bundle of photos from it. She threw her head back and laughed before passing it over to Haymitch. His face had contorted into a mask of disbelief as he flicked through the old photographs.

"I thought these were destroyed! I'm gonna burn them," he announced, his voice laced with irritation.

"No, don't. They're so precious," she said, taking the photographs back from his hold and pressed them protectively to her chest.

It was the first time that either of them had seen the photos. Effie smiled fondly at the picture of Haymitch with a scowl on his face as he sat nursing a drink at the bar in the Seam, minutes before he destroyed the camera of the paparazzi team Effie had set on him. There was also a picture of them, her hand in his as he dragged her away from the reporter. She made a mental note to frame that picture up.

"Grandma! What happened to your teeth?"

The smile slid off her face as Effie looked up, mortified. She had forgotten about the situation with the denture and had not realised that when she laughed, everyone could see it.

"Your grandfather," she mumbled.

"Oh, mum," her daughter said sympathetically.

"Dad… Really? After all these time?" Lucas asked, exasperated. Lucas was Effie's baby, her precious son and he protected her with a fierce ferocity that made Haymitch proud.

"Always. Especially after all these time," Haymitch replied, baiting Lucas. "Now that you're all grown up and we don't have to take look after your sorry asses, what's your mum and I gonna do at home, huh?"

"At least it's just your dentures, mum. He hasn't hidden your brassiere or something equally embarrassing," Erasmus pointed out, trying to placate his mother.

Effie turned a bright shade of red and Haymitch smiled arrogantly at his eldest son.

"Oh my god, you did it, didn't you?" "Dad! You're terrible!" "Oh, wow, old man. I never thought!" exclaimed three different voices expressing their disbelief and amusement.

"When was this?" Lucas queried.

"Ten years ago, or something," Haymitch shrugged.

Lucas gasped as he realised the significance of it. "That was the day mum refused to leave her room! She was supposed to meet my teacher at school but you attended in her stead, dragging Erasmus along, if I remember correctly."

"And, aren't you glad that I did, kid? As I recalled, you released the rabbits in your school backyard that year."

XxX

"DAD!"

Lucas thundered down the steps to the sitting room where his family had gathered. In his hand, he carried the glass where his mother denture was floating in the overnight solution.

"You put it on my dresser! In _my_ room! Why would you do something like that?" he asked, traumatised.

Haymitch's lips quirked and Effie could see the beginning of a sneer forming.

"Because it was your fault that she couldn't shut up about how excited she was with the whole highly-secretive news you've been keeping from her. And I had to endure it, Lucas. _Me_. Your mother talked my ears off for a week before you arrived."

Erasmus snickered and Hayden shook her head at what was now a very common family situation.

"I'll just…," he said shakily. "I'll put this in your room, mum."

As he climbed the stairs back to his parent's room, he heard his entire family laughing at his expense. Being the youngest meant that he was used to being teased and most often than not, it was always his mother and him that were picked on.

His sister usually chose to sit on the side lines. Lucas was beginning to think that she was the only sensible person in the family. Erasmus, who inherited most of their father's temperament, had silently formed an agreement with Haymitch to work together. It was them against him and Effie.

He heard his mother's footsteps behind and waited for her to catch up with him. "Don't worry, mum. We'll think of something for them. Just like always, eh?"

Effie smiled, causing the wrinkles on her eyes to crinkle. She looped her arms around her son who was now so much taller than her. Her eyes watered at how far she and Haymitch had come together. It had always been just her and Haymitch, but now, she had someone to plan all of these with together.

* * *

**A/N**

And that's a wrap! Live A Little was one of the most enjoyable multi-chapter fic I've ever written, and your reviews and support made it all the more brilliant. I truly enjoy brainstorming on those 'pranks' that our favourite pair could do to each other. So thank you, very very much. I can't convey how thankful I am that people like what I wrote and continued reading it until the end.

I have plans to make a second instalment for Live A Little which would basically cover the timeline from Chapter 23 to this epilogue but I would only do so if there are people who is interested in reading. So, if you do and you have something that you want to see in the second instalment, you can send me a PM or an ask at my Tumblr, (allonsysilvertongue) whichever convenient! Or if you have any prompts for a one-shot, you can tell me, too :)

Goodbye and thank you, again!

**Update: **If your favourite prank was the frogs, I made a gifset of it on my Tumblr. You can check it out!


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